accomplish
Americanverb (used with object)
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to bring to its goal or conclusion; carry out; perform; finish.
to accomplish one's mission.
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to complete (a distance or period of time).
to have accomplished the age of 70;
We accomplished the journey in little more than an hour.
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Archaic. to provide polish to; perfect.
verb
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to manage to do; achieve
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to conclude successfully; complete
Usage
What does accomplish mean? Accomplish means to carry out or finish an action—to complete what you set out to do. To accomplish a goal is to complete it. Accomplish is often (though not always) used in the context of completing a set goal—one that is planned or desired before it is accomplished. Accomplish is generally used in a positive way in the context of completing beneficial goals (though a person can accomplish bad things—many supervillains hope to accomplish a global takeover). The completion of a goal or anything accomplished can be called an accomplishment, which means about the same thing as achievement. Someone who has accomplished many impressive things in life or in their career can be described with the adjective accomplished. It’s especially used to indicate that a person is very experienced, skilled, and perhaps awarded in their field, as in an accomplished singer. Much less commonly, accomplish can mean to reach a destination or certain age, as in I never thought I would accomplish the age of 100. Example: I’m hoping to accomplish everything on my to-do list today.
Synonym Usage
See do 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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accomplishsimple
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accomplishessimple
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have accomplishedperfect
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has accomplishedperfect
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am accomplishingprogressive
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are accomplishingprogressive
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is accomplishingprogressive
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have been accomplishingperfect progressive
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has been accomplishingperfect progressive
Past
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accomplishedsimple
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had accomplishedperfect
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was accomplishingprogressive
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were accomplishingprogressive
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had been accomplishingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of accomplish
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French accompliss-, stem of acomplir, equivalent to a- ac- + complir, ultimately from Latin complēre “to fill”; see complete, -ish 2
Explanation
To accomplish something is to get it done. People usually accomplish things that are sources of pride — like goals or records. But people accomplish immoral acts as well — like scandals or cons. The verb accomplish also means to bring about or put into effect. The CEO stood before the employees and outlined all she expected to be accomplished in the next year. She ended her speech by saying, "If we are to accomplish this, we must all work together — and work hard — but the rewards if we succeed will be great both for the company and for those that work here. Thank you for your efforts!"
Vocabulary lists containing accomplish
List 1
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PARCC: Language of the Test (Grade7)
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The SAT: Language of the Test, List 5
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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.
AI agents are a key focus of those fears —they are software that can use an AI language model to accomplish a complex series of tasks in much the same way a human worker would.
From Barron's • Jun. 15, 2026
However, for everyone I spoke to, anonymity was absolutely paramount to the work they were trying to accomplish.
From Slate • Jun. 15, 2026
To accomplish this, the researchers attached flexible chemical chains to the POM clusters.
From Science Daily • Jun. 12, 2026
But Hochman indicated in his court filing that he did not believe any of the the myriad probes underway compared to what his office could accomplish.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026
Chase thought about holding his ground and refusing to go, but it wouldn’t accomplish anything.
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
