establish

American  

[ih-stab-lish] / ɪˈstæb lɪʃ /

verb (used with object)

• establishes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• established,
  past participle,  past
• establishing
  present participle

1. to found, institute, build, or bring into being on a firm or stable basis.

   to establish a university; to establish a medical practice.

   Synonyms:

   organize, form

   Antonyms:

   abolish

2. to install or settle in a position, place, business, etc..

   to establish one's child in business.

3. to show to be valid or true; prove.

   to establish the facts of the matter.

   Synonyms:

   substantiate, verify

   Antonyms:

   disprove

4. to cause to be accepted or recognized.

   to establish a custom; She established herself as a leading surgeon.

5. to bring about permanently.

   to establish order.

6. to enact, appoint, or ordain for permanence, as a law; fix unalterably.

   Synonyms:

   decree

7. to make (a church) a national or state institution.

8. Cards. to obtain control of (a suit) so that one can win all the subsequent tricks in it.

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establish British  

/ ɪˈstæblɪʃ /

verb

1. to make secure or permanent in a certain place, condition, job, etc

   to establish one's usefulness

   to establish a house

2. to create or set up (an organization, etc) on or as if on a permanent basis

   to establish a company

3. to prove correct or free from doubt; validate

   to establish a fact

4. to cause (a principle, theory, etc) to be widely or permanently accepted

   to establish a precedent

5. to give (a Church) the status of a national institution

6. (of a person) to become recognized and accepted

   he established himself as a reliable GP

7. (in works of imagination) to cause (a character, place, etc) to be credible and recognized

   the first scene established the period

8. cards to make winners of (the remaining cards of a suit) by forcing out opponents' top cards

9. (also intr) botany

   1. to cause (a plant) to grow or (of a plant) to grow in a new place

      the birch scrub has established over the past 25 years

   2. to become or cause to become a sapling or adult plant from a seedling

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Synonym Usage

See fix.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• establisher
  noun
• reestablish
  verb (used with object)
• superestablish
  verb (used with object)
• establishable
  adjective
• unestablishable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• establishing
  present
• established
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• establish
  simple
• establishes
  simple
• have established
  perfect
• has established
  perfect
• am establishing
  progressive
• are establishing
  progressive
• is establishing
  progressive
• have been establishing
  perfect progressive
• has been establishing
  perfect progressive

Past

• established
  simple
• had established
  perfect
• was establishing
  progressive
• were establishing
  progressive
• had been establishing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will establish
  simple
• will have established
  perfect
• will be establishing
  progressive
• will have been establishing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of establish

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English establissen, establishen, from Middle French establiss-, extended stem of establir, from Latin stabilīre, derivative of stabilis stable ²

Explanation

To establish something means to begin it or bring it about. If you want everyone in your family to bring you chocolate every evening, you can establish a “Chocolates for Me” policy requiring it. Establish is related to stable through its Latin roots and has many meanings, but all have the feel of building on a stable foundation. Besides the meaning of setting a policy, establish can also mean to prove one's value. You should establish yourself in a community before you try to bring change to it. Similarly, if you like to debate controversial issues, you'd best begin with facts that have been established and are not open to question. If you have a lot of money and want to build up your community, you can establish, or found, a school or library there.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

establish establishes established establishing

Three fires across Mendocino County grew to a combined 59,214 acres by Saturday afternoon as firefighters worked to establish containment lines.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

"Maybe it will take a massive, Chernobyl-scale disaster to get governments to act," Russell said, urging them to establish a licensing regime for AI, as exists with aviation, medicine or water supply.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

Nor does Saramago establish whether his protagonist is driven by a perverse desire or innocent curiosity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

The Met Police said officers were working quickly to establish the full circumstances, and there would be an increased police presence in the area.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

White needed to establish where the two had gone after leaving Ralston.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

This battle over cheese does not pass the smell test for Busch, who argues the U.S. also gives preferential treatment to countries it establishes trade deals with—including Canada.

From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2026

It’s drawn from Ionesco’s “Fragments of a Journal,” and effectively establishes the sad and searching state of mind that torments Berenger, but also his centrality to Ionesco’s tragicomedy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

Cohen’s office said in a statement that its bill “clarifies existing law and establishes a consistent, common-sense standard for determining whether an owner remains connected to a securities account.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026

None of that establishes that political access changed the government’s response.

From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026

Notice, however, that in other places in the music, the melody establishes the meter very strongly, so that the syncopations are easily heard to be syncopations.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

"I do not support any political party at this moment in time," he said, adding that once the bloc was established, it would be made "extremely clear" which way the group's vote would go.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

For the first time, they established a quantitative connection between that model and gravitational fluctuations in spacetime.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026

Highly intelligent people often become extremely efficient at operating within established systems while remaining surprisingly blind to alternative framings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Pegasus Airlines, established in 1990, operated 158 international routes to 55 countries at the end of 2025, according to its website.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

It established a permanent federal office to support civil rights and help ensure that everyone could vote.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

Democrats in both the House and the Senate on Tuesday discussed establishing select committees on artificial intelligence.

From Slate ● Sep. 12, 2026

Davis was also instrumental in doubling the Oscars’ best picture category from five nominees to 10 in 2009, establishing the preferential ballot system that determines the academy’s top prize.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

Rubio also underscored commercial ties, saying Google, Palantir, and SpaceX were "establishing operations and digital infrastructure in Ecuador."

From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026

A spokeswoman for Pashinyan said that establishing peace with Azerbaijan has been “the most important promise” of the prime minister’s government and that he had a “clear mandate from the people” to do so.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

Kabuo recognized Carl’s neat hand in things, his way of establishing a rigid order, the force that had driven him, years before, to keep his tackle box shipshape.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

Related Words

• authorize
• base
• build
• create
• enact
• form
• found
• inaugurate
• install
• institute
• provide
• put
• settle
• start