come to an end — finish
collocationB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
to finish or stop happening after a period of time.
Say it like a native
Textbook The event reached its conclusion at midnight.
Native The party came to an end around midnight.
'Reached its conclusion' is formal/written; 'come to an end' is the everyday phrase.
Pattern: come to an end
In use
- Our summer vacation came to an end much faster than I expected.daily life
- In my opinion, all good things must come to an end, so it's important to enjoy every moment while it lasts.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ The holiday came to end too soon.
✓ The holiday came to an end too soon.
Keep 'an' — it's a fixed phrase: 'come to AN end'.
Common collocations
come to an end— the war, an era, the show, all good things
Don't confuse it
Similar to 'end' or 'be over', but 'come to an end' is often used for things that last for a while, like holidays, meetings, or relationships.