末尾 (mò wěi) literally combines 末 (mò), meaning 'end' or 'tip', and 尾 (wěi), meaning 'tail'. Together, they form a noun meaning 'the very end' or 'tail end' — referring to the final part of something linear or sequential, such as a list, line, sentence, document, or process. It emphasizes position rather than time, so it’s not used for abstract 'ends' like death or conclusions in argumentation (for which 结束 or 结局 are preferred).

This word is neutral in register and commonly appears in both spoken and written Chinese, especially when describing physical or logical sequence — e.g., the last item on a page, the final person in a queue, or the concluding section of a report. Unlike the more colloquial 尾巴 (wěi ba, 'tail'), 末尾 carries no literal animal reference and is never used for biological tails.