achieve
Americanverb (used with object)
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achieves,
present (3rd person singular)
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achieved,
past participle, past
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achieving
present participle
verb (used without object)
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achieves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
achieved,
past participle, past
-
achieving
present participle
verb
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to bring to a successful conclusion; accomplish; attain
-
to gain as by hard work or effort
to achieve success
Synonym Usage
See do 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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achievernoun
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superachievernoun
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outachieveverb (used with object)
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achievableadjective
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preachievedadjective
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unachievableadjective
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unachievedadjective
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well-achievedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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achievesimple
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achievessimple
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have achievedperfect
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has achievedperfect
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am achievingprogressive
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are achievingprogressive
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is achievingprogressive
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have been achievingperfect progressive
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has been achievingperfect progressive
Past
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achievedsimple
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had achievedperfect
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was achievingprogressive
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were achievingprogressive
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had been achievingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of achieve
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English acheven, from Old French achever “to finish,” from phrase a chef “to (the) head,” i.e., “to conclusion”; see chief
Explanation
If you achieve something, you've reached a goal. Achievements aren't accidents. If you stumble upon a treasure chest, you haven't achieved something; however, achieving a promotion to become CEO is another story. If someone asks you to give an example of the word achieve, you can always reach for Shakespeare's much quoted remark from his play Twelfth Night. In Act II, Scene V, the character Malvolio says, ". . . some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em." Pundits like to throw that quote around when talking about politicians. Of course, they usually disagree about if, when, and how the politician achieved greatness.
Vocabulary lists containing achieve
The AP English Exam: The Language of the Test
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Workshop 1, Part 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"Our goal is to achieve zero illegal deforestation by 2030," he said in a post on X on Friday.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
The Manhattan Project, the secret American effort to develop nuclear weapons during World War II, was driven partly by the possibility that Nazi Germany might achieve a similar breakthrough first.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
"That is why country strategies and compacts matter. Roadmaps built around a country's ambitions, the results we are trying to achieve together, and the investments and reforms required to get there," he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta says he was told the club's decision to cut 60 jobs had been made to "achieve the success we want to create".
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
“The creator has given us certain inviolable rights: the right to life, the right to be free, and the right to achieve happiness.”
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
“If Robinson achieves its savings target, it will be significantly more challenging for companies like TQL, J.B. Hunt and other mid-sized brokers to compete on price.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
If it achieves that, the spacecraft will then attempt to deploy satellites designed to expand the company's already massive satellite internet constellation.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
To compound matters, the masculine ego trap also tells a man that he’s not worthy of what he wants until he achieves some nebulous milestone that, again, sets him apart from other men.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
The rub here is that there’s a difference between a film that becomes a cult classic because it’s genuinely underrated, and one that achieves that status through the unholy, rose-colored lens of social media obsession.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
A wish that continually approaches but never achieves fulfillment.
From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon
When American forces discovered and dismantled the B8 reactor in 1945, it had never achieved criticality.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
"The children were good students and often achieved top positions in their classes," he told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
In the past, she has portrayed those casting doubts that such a resolution could be achieved as irksome malcontents.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
Stella Li, BYD’s executive vice president, said the company intends to dethrone Toyota as the world’s largest automaker by sales and that this can be achieved without selling cars in the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
I was playing for a draw with white, but Bobby played so badly that I achieved a winning position.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
This one did something else, reaching extreme heights but never achieving the sustained success of more entrenched conspiracy theories.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
More than eight decades after the war, the surviving uranium cubes have helped resolve a longstanding historical question, revealing just how far Nazi Germany remained from achieving a critical step toward building an atomic bomb.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
And, even before the pandemic, about half of the state’s students were not achieving the state’s learning goals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
“Increasingly, our focus will be on scaling AVs in more cities and achieving higher supply density in those markets,” he wrote.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
As Chief Luthuli said, “When the women begin to take an active part in the struggle, no power on earth can stop us from achieving freedom in our lifetime.”
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
