penultimate
- Second to last in a sequence or series.
In a sentence
- The penultimate chapter sets up the dramatic revelations of the finale.
- She won the penultimate race of the season, keeping her championship hopes alive.
Usage note. A very common error is using 'penultimate' to mean 'the very best' or 'the ultimate,' perhaps by confusion with the prefix 'pen-'; it means strictly second-to-last, nothing more.
Where it comes from
English penultimate · entered English late 17th c.
From Latin 'paenultimus,' composed of 'paene,' meaning 'almost,' and 'ultimus,' meaning 'last.' The term was originally a grammatical term referring to the second-to-last syllable of a word, entering English in the late 17th century.