The Collaborative International Dictionary
Ne plus ultra \Ne plus ul"tra\ [L., no further; ne no, not + plus more + ultra beyond.]
The uttermost point to which one can go or attain; hence, the summit of achievement; the highest point or degree; the acme.
A prohibition against proceeding further; an insuperable obstacle or limiting condition. [Obs. or R.]
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
"utmost limit to which one can go," Latin, literally "no more beyond;" the motto traditionally inscribed on the Pillars of Hercules.
Wiktionary
n. 1 The highest, ultimate point of achievement which can be reached; perfection. 2 The highest possible state, degree, or condition of quality. 3 (cx rare English) A prohibition against proceeding further; an insuperable obstacle or limiting condition.
WordNet
n. the state of being without a flaw or defect [syn: perfection, flawlessness] [ant: imperfection]
Usage examples of "ne plus ultra".
Apollo Johnson, whom the ladies considered as the ne plus ultra of fashion, and the arbiter elegantiarum.
The Institute, the ne plus ultra destination of the best minds graduating from MIT and Stanford, owned a large red-brick building constructed at the turn of the century in the Georgian style.
Nor was he stumped by a system usually regarded by amateurs as the ne plus ultra of cryptographic security: a book cipher.
Crouch came his tongue, his teeth, his lips, his hard and soft palate, his maxillary muscles, larynx, epiglottis and lungs: all the apparatus which enabled him, ne plus ultra, to talk.