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
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achieving
present participle
verb
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to bring to a successful conclusion; accomplish; attain
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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:
Hannover Re HNR1 -0.40%decrease; red down pointing triangle reported a lower net profit for the second quarter, hit by currency headwinds, but said it is on track to achieve its full-year guidance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
"We have our main core, the same manager, same methods and same desire to achieve more. A lot of people thought we reached a ceiling a couple of seasons ago and we proved them wrong."
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
SpaceX on Wednesday unveiled its latest artificial-intelligence model, which could help it achieve CEO Elon Musk’s revenue goals.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
"We are in this process to achieve a democratic and free Venezuela," the politician wrote on X on Tuesday.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
That’s how unfair things were during that era and why Colored people fought so hard and engaged in so much self-help in an effort to achieve equality.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
His film is likable as heck but never quite achieves liftoff.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
They said the new deal "achieves this without any government funding or cost to taxpayers".
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
If SpaceX achieves that goal, it could become the most powerful and cost effective launch vehicle ever built.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
Whether SK Hynix achieves anything close to that is difficult to say, but it seems nearly certain that another cyclical downturn will come eventually.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
The more tests given—and the more students enrolled in rigorous courses—the higher the ranking a school achieves.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
Thus far, no company has achieved an “insurmountable lead,” according to Lee.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
“Nimblewill Nomad” Eberhart, who knew my parents, achieved this feat at age 83 in 2021, taking the honor from Greybeard, who set a record at age 82 in 2017.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
Zambia has a long record of transferring power through the ballot box, with every change of president since the return to multiparty politics in 1991 achieved through elections.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
Hodgkinson, who achieved the first major outdoor title of her career at the European Championships in 2022 before retaining the title in Rome two years ago, vowed not to allow that to happen again.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
In the mid-1960s, he turned his attention to writing books and achieved tremendous success with his creation of one of the most beloved characters in modern adventure fiction.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
Losing weight can reduce some of these risks, but achieving substantial weight loss through diet and exercise alone can be difficult.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026
And the percentage of students achieving a merit or above grew from 65.3% to 68.9%.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Chatterjee believes the company is capable of achieving the Rule of 50 — meaning that its annual revenue growth and profit margin would add up to 50% or more — by fiscal 2030.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
“We hope that by having a grand jury return an indictment in this case it will bring us one step closer to a trial and achieving justice.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Perhaps only the basic idea is known: someone has succeeded, somehow, in achieving a certain final result.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
