closing time; time to leave
Refers to the moment when a gathering, event, or workplace ends and people start to leave. Often used in the phrase 引け際に.
I spoke to her as the party was breaking up.
I double-checked just as the meeting was ending.
Standard kanji spelling.
Rarely used kanji form; 引け際 is preferred.
Compound of 引け (the continuative form of 引く, 'to pull back, withdraw') and 際 ('time, occasion').