“At the end” vs “in the end” explained with examples – English Lessons Brighton

What’s the difference between ‘at the end’ and ‘in the end’?

Simply put, at the end refers to a specific time or location, whilst in the end is an idiomatic phrase that means in conclusion or in summary. However, the difference between at the end and in the end shows one of the main differences between use of the prepositions at and in.

Consider these examples:

• We ate at the dinner table. but We ate in the dining room.

At in all these examples refers to a specific time or location; in refers to being inside a general area. At the end is used to point to the end as a specific point in time, whilst in the end is used, more idiomatically, to talk about a general “end” zone: the summary or conclusion.

This could be demonstrated in a diagram. If we were talking about a film: