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

She said in 1872, the council got a £200 grant to establish the town's library and and it had fewer than 1,000 books in its collection, with the overdue book marked as number 506.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

The air district’s order requires Lineage to establish a public notification system to update residents on the cleanup’s progress and activities that could result in an increase in odors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

Such discussions helped establish the difference between witnessing as a matter of civic responsibility and leering voyeurism.

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026

The bill would also establish clear market structure rules that provide regulatory certainty for investors and banks so they don’t have to worry about being whipsawed by the whims of a future administration.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

My parents reasoned that in America we could find jobs and help support my sister and brother, whose lives would not be easy in a country struggling to establish itself.

From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson

“This year, investors have been more sensitive to Shopify’s cost management and margin dilution, and we believe today’s print largely abates those concerns, and establishes an upward trajectory for FCF margins going forward,” Shao wrote.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

"It establishes that our approach to wildfire management will not change if the government changes, and that is really important."

From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026

The text says: "This Order establishes, beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund."

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

Demonstrating “‘a significant increase in the concentration of firms in that market’ establishes a presumption that the merger will substantially lessen competition,” the judge writes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

The system by which the Food and Drug Administration establishes maximum permissible limits of contamination, called “tolerances,” has obvious defects.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

This last-minute legitimization would later allow Sand to legally inherit her father’s estate; it also established the uneasy balance between respectability and impropriety that would come to dominate her life.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Because if the Panthère ring is the established icon, the Panthère sunglasses are the fresh upstart.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

Fortunately, I have a close relationship with both my niece and her mother, and I’ve also been able to help support my niece’s education through a 529 plan established when she was born.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026

Large, careful trials have not found that swallowing high-dose vitamin C helps people with established cancer live longer.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026

Regina established a Sunday night ritual of running a bath for him, practically carrying him to the tub.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

In its statement, Egan-Jones denied the allegations by the former employees and said they were establishing a competing ratings business.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Investigators said the companies allegedly sought to conceal the identity of their Chinese financial backers while establishing "unauthorised" operations or "illegally" recruiting talent.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

When the women played at Euro 2025 in Switzerland, McAllister was there again to see the legacy not only of her own pioneering work in establishing the team but the far-reaching effects of 2016.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

"We will also be testing the concept using other intermetallics, with the goal of establishing the general applicability of FAIs for improving plasticity in this metal class," Xu said.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026

He was demonstrating in this first image that perspective drawing involves establishing a picture plane through which the image is viewed.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

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