achieve

American

[uh-cheev] / əˈtʃiv /

verb (used with object)

achieved, achieving

to bring to a successful end; carry through; accomplish.

The police crackdown on speeders achieved its purpose.

Synonyms:

reach, realize, execute, effect, complete, consummate
to get or attain by effort; gain; obtain.

to achieve victory.

Synonyms:

win, realize

verb (used without object)

achieved, achieving

to bring about an intended result; accomplish some purpose or effect.

achieve British

/ əˈtʃiːv /

verb

to bring to a successful conclusion; accomplish; attain
to gain as by hard work or effort

to achieve success

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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”; chief

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.

Artificial and impure, and achieved by doing something only slightly resembling basketball.

From Los Angeles Times

A hefty valuation at much more than $10 billion could be tough to achieve.

From Barron's

Towards the end of our interview, I asked Suranovas what he thought Russia had wanted to achieve.

From BBC

Next week we’ll ask: “Do you think society still views owning a home as essential for achieving the American Dream? Why or why not?”

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023