achieve
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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:
Morrison didn’t publish her first novel until she was 39, and it took Tuchman decades to achieve a level of success that allowed her to fully commit to a writing career.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
“Our retirement savings system is built on incentives to help workers achieve financial security after a lifetime of work — not on loopholes for the wealthiest to exploit,” Neal said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Their opponents were set to be a Sunday league team from Reading called XL FC who use football as a way to achieve a healthier lifestyle.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Anduril said “Thunder is urgently needed today” and “brings the combination of capabilities necessary to achieve maneuver dominance on the modern battlefield.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
It is thus easy to think of scientific revolutions as deliberate acts, conducted by people who achieve what they set out to achieve.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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
If the Italian bank achieves 50% control of Commerzbank it would be able to incorporate the German bank’s results in its own accounts, Bank of America says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
But he will be even richer if he achieves a few profound goals.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 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
"Previously, no large language model had ever achieved a perfect score under the IMO's official judging process," the firm added, referring to the tech that underpins AI tools like chatbots.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
“The group achieved strong results driven by momentum across its business lines,” Chief Executive Jean-Laurent Bonnafe said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
He added: "I go with good grace. I go with a smile, and I go proud of everything that we have achieved."
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Lumentum’s stock is up 637% in the last 12 months, but it’s down 27% from its peak achieved on May 11.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
While the boycott wasn’t a complete victory, the number of concessions achieved was striking.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
Nosek’s early investment in DeepMind, an AI company focused on achieving artificial general intelligence, paid off when it eventually was purchased by Google.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
Ben Martinez, Calexico’s city manager, said his city continues to work with state officials on the plans and “remains fully committed to achieving compliance with California Housing Element law.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
Stupak credits Fedorov with achieving something no-one would have imagined possible ten years ago: dragging the sclerotic, rigidly inflexible military into the digital world.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
While many workers focus on their salaries, achieving financial well-being requires another “cushion that income alone cannot provide” — it requires wealth, including savings, investments and other assets, according to the report.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
Seven would have a much better chance of achieving her biggest dream, becoming a witching-world-famous journalist, if she was in one of the powerful covens, like her mom.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
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.
