penultimate [pi-nuhl-tuh-mit] ExamplesWord Origin adjective
- next to the last: the penultimate scene of the play.
- of or relating to a penult or the next to the last syllable in a word: In the word appropriate, -pri- is the penultimate syllable.
noun
- a penult.
Origin of penultimate First recorded in 1670–80; see origin at penult, ultimate Can be confusedlast penultimate ultimate Examples from the Web for penultimate Contemporary Examples of penultimate
But then that big bang that ended the penultimate episode happened.
Inside ‘Orange Is the New Black’ S2, Eps. 6-12: About That Shocking Incest Scene
Kevin Fallon, Marlow Stern
June 20, 2014
And on the penultimate episode of The Bachelor, Assistant District Attorney Andi became the second to reject him.
Andi Wins ‘The Bachelor’ by Dumping Juan Pablo
Brandy Zadrozny
February 26, 2014
Just look at the penultimate symbol of urban renaissance, Brooklyn.
The Revolt Against Urban Gentry
Joel Kotkin
November 30, 2013
The penultimate episode of the series found Walter White (Bryan Cranston) alone in a New Hampshire cabin.
‘Breaking Bad’ Meets ‘Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium’… And It Is Glorious
Amy Zimmerman
September 25, 2013
The penultimate band is $200,000 to $250,000, which is ten times as wide as the previous band.
Department of Awful Statistics: Income Inequality Edition
Megan McArdle
February 6, 2013
Historical Examples of penultimate
Is it the ultimate, or is it only the penultimate, datum of cognition?
Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 62, No. 382, October 1847
Various
And so it was with Cicero during this the penultimate year of his life.
Anthony Trollope
There he commenced ‘Count Robert of Paris,’ the penultimate of his published tales.
Anonymous
Verbs with mag- of this sort always have penultimate stress.
A Dictionary of Cebuano Visayan
John U. Wolff
In the former the last whorl is broadest, in the latter the penultimate.
John William Horsley
British Dictionary definitions for penultimate penultimate adjective
- next to the last
noun
- anything that is next to the last, esp a penult
Word Origin for penultimate C17: from Latin paene almost + ultimate, on the model of Latin paenultimus Word Origin and History for penultimate adj.