achieve

[ uh-cheev ]

See synonyms for achieve on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),a·chieved, a·chiev·ing.

to bring to a successful end; carry through; accomplish: The police crackdown on speeders achieved its purpose.
to get or attain by effort; gain; obtain: to achieve victory.

verb (used without object),a·chieved, a·chiev·ing.

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

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

synonym study For achieve

1. See do¹.

Other words for achieve

1	consummate, complete; effect, execute; realize, reach
2	realize, win

See synonyms for achieve on Thesaurus.com

Other words from achieve

a·chiev·a·ble, adjective
a·chiev·er, noun
out·a·chieve, verb (used with object), out·a·chieved, out·a·chiev·ing
pre·a·chieved, adjective
su·per·a·chiev·er, noun
un·a·chiev·a·ble, adjective
un·a·chieved, adjective
well-a·chieved, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use achieve in a sentence

Even if Loertscher eventually achieves legal redemption, she says the damage has already been done.
States Slap Pregnant Women With Harsher Jail Sentences | Emily Shire | December 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Many people simply take it for granted that government regulation achieves its intended ends.
The Best Regulator? That’s Easy. It’s the Market. | Veronique de Rugy | October 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Time will tell whether the Upper East Side achieves lasting social cachet to go with the cash awash in the neighborhood.
Why the Upper East Side Is Now Cooler Than Brooklyn | Tom Teodorczuk | September 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The Gospel Tent at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, which opens today, is where Southern culture achieves an apex.
The Cradle of Jazz, Blues and Gospel Endlessly Rocking | Jason Berry | April 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
And, even if it achieves that goal, it still faces an array of legal, practical and constitutional obstacles to be implemented.
Could 2016 Be The Electoral College's Last Hurrah? | Ben Jacobs | March 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

It is a system of hostilities and objections that somehow achieves at times an elusive common soul.
The New Machiavelli | Herbert George Wells
Matter achieves (recognition) through its form; and a soul's destiny is realized by the virtue which is its form.
Plotinos: Complete Works, v. 3 | Plotinos (Plotinus)
It is in these portraits that the art of Raphael is at its greatest, becomes universal, achieves immortality.
Florence and Northern Tuscany with Genoa | Edward Hutton
Perhaps because, after all, no man ever quite achieves complete resemblance to a jellyfish.
Where the Pavement Ends | John Russell
A mournful image of a nation which achieves her own ruin, but which does not fall ingloriously.
History of Julius Caesar Vol. 1 of 2 | Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, 1808-1873.

British Dictionary definitions for achieve

achieve

/ (əˈtʃiːv) /

verb(tr)

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

Origin of achieve

C14: from Old French achever to bring to an end, from the phrase a chef to a head, to a conclusion

Derived forms of achieve

achievable, adjective
achiever, noun

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

Browse