1. a pair of supports placed at each end of a row of books to keep them upright
Usage: usually used in plural
2. things that mark the beginning and end of something
Usage: figurative use

1. to place at opposite ends or sides of something
Usage: transitive

Examples

• She placed heavy bookends on either side of her dictionary collection.
• The marble bookends kept the novels from falling over.
• His childhood and retirement bookended a successful career.
• Two major wars bookended the first half of the twentieth century.
• The decorative bookends were shaped like elephants.
• These events bookend a period of great change in history.
• Matching bookends help organize any bookshelf.