1. A final, painful, or disastrous extremity.
2. Nautical. The inboard end of a chain, rope, or cable, especially the end of a rope or cable that is wound around a bitt.

[English bitter, bitt (BITT + -ER¹) + END. Sense 1, influenced by BITTER.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.