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PlainSpell

final

fi·nal/ˈfaɪn(ə)l/noun, adjective, verb

final is spelled F-I-N-A-L: 5 letters and 2 syllables (fi·nal). It appears 191 times per million words in written English, the 531st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, final means “A final examination; a test or examination given at the end of a term or class; the test that concludes a class” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of final is finals.

How many letters and syllables are in final?

Letters5: F-I-N-A-L
Syllables2: fi·nal
In writing191 times per million words; the 531st most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is final?

Final appears 191 times per million words in written English, the 531st most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce final?

  • UK /ˈfaɪnl̩/
  • US /ˈfaɪn(ə)l/
  • US [-nəɫ]

Final has 2 syllables, split fi·nal in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Back_ache-final.wav, En-us-final.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with final?

No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as final (/aɪnl/).

Spelled with the same letters in another order: alfin.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of final

  • finals plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • finall
  • more final comparative
  • most final superlative
  • finaling US, participle, present
  • finalling UK, participle, present
  • finaled US, participle, past
  • finalled UK, participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does final mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    CanadaUSA final examination; a test or examination given at the end of a term or class; the test that concludes a class.

  2. 2

    A final examination taken at the end of the final year of an undergraduate course, which contributes towards a student's degree classification.

  3. 3

    The last round, game or match in a contest, after which the winner is determined.

  4. 4

    The final part of a syllable, the combination of medial and rime in phonetics and phonology.

  5. 5

    The tonic or keynote of a Gregorian mode, and hence the final note of any conventional melody played in that mode.

adjective

  1. 1

    Last; ultimate.

    final solution; the final day of a school term

  2. 2

    Conclusive; decisive.

    a final judgment; the battle of Waterloo brought the contest to a final issue

  3. 3

    Respecting an end or object to be gained; respecting the purpose or ultimate end in view.

  4. 4

    Expressing purpose; as in the term final clause.

  5. 5

    Word-final; occurring at the end of a word.

verb

  1. 1

    colloquialTo qualify for the final round of a competition.

    Mike finalled in both the 400 meter and the 800 meter races.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Final in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchexamen (test or examination given at the end of a term…), finale (sports: last round in a contest), dernier, ultime (last; ultimate)
GermanAbschlussprüfung (test or examination given at the end of a term…), Finale, Endkampf, Schlussrunde, Endspiel (sports: last round in a contest), endgültig (last; ultimate)
Portugueseprova final (test or examination given at the end of a term…), final (sports: last round in a contest), último (last; ultimate)
Spanishfinal (test or examination given at the end of a term…), último (last; ultimate)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does final come from?

From Middle English final, fynal, fynall, from Old French final, from Latin fīnālis (“of or relating to the end or to boundaries”), from fīnis (“end”); see fine. Replaced native English endly (“final”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after final