at the end of the day

at the end of the day 

1. Lit. at the time when work or one's waking hours end. (See also by the end of the day.) I will have an answer at the end of the day. Will this be finished at the end of the day or before?

2. Fig. when everything else has been taken into consideration. At the end of the day you will have to decide where you want to live. The committee interviewed many applicants for the post, but at the end of the day made no appointment.

See also: day, end

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at the end of the day  (informal)

something that you say before you say what you believe to be the most important fact of a situation Sure we missed our best player but at the end of the day, John, we just didn't play well enough to win the game. At the end of the day, what matters is that you're safe.

See also: day, end

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at the end of the day also by the end of the day

finally in the end We interviewed many people for the job, but at the end of the day, we didn't think any of them could handle it.

Related vocabulary: in the final analysis

See also: day, end