achieve
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
-
to bring to a successful conclusion; accomplish; attain
-
to gain as by hard work or effort
to achieve success
Related Words
See do 1.
Other Word Forms
- achievable adjective
- achiever noun
- outachieve verb (used with object)
- preachieved adjective
- superachiever noun
- unachievable adjective
- unachieved adjective
- well-achieved adjective
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.
Amazon, which has operated an online pharmacy since 2020, described the initiative as an integration of “primary care, pharmacy services, and virtual care options to help patients achieve lasting weight loss results.”
From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026
To achieve this, they combined time-spectrum mapping, compressive spectral imaging and coherent modulation imaging.
From Science Daily • Apr. 21, 2026
And even if fully successful, Intel’s stock is pricing in a level of earnings power that looks hard to achieve, given the company’s shifting business model and the competitive realities of the AI chip market.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 19, 2026
That means the S&P 500 was able to achieve a new record with only 2.4% of the index’s stocks at highs of their own, which isn’t something that happens very often.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 19, 2026
“You are wrong. We do care. We care greatly for the greater good of a singular Collective. The Collective has made difficult choices over all these units to achieve this point.”
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
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.
