penultimate

Intermediatezipf 3.09

Pronunciation

/pɪˈnʌltɪmət/(pih-NUL-tih-mut)

Part of speech

adjectiveformal

Chinese

倒数第二的

Definition

Last but one in a series of things; second to last.

Word family

  • penultimately/pɪˈnʌltɪmətli/(adv)倒数第二地

Collocations

  • penultimate chapter
  • penultimate episode
  • penultimate round
  • penultimate syllable

Examples

  1. 1.The penultimate episode of the series ended on a dramatic cliffhanger. (second to last)
  2. 2.We're on the penultimate item on the agenda — nearly done. (next to last)

Synonyms

  • second-to-last/ˌsɛkəndtəˈlɑːst/— one before the final
  • next-to-last/ˌnɛksttəˈlɑːst/— same

Etymology

from Latin "paenultimus" — paene (almost) + ultimus (last) — almost the last