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Which phrase means something is complete?

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complete

American  

[kuhm-pleet] / kəmˈplit /

adjective

1. having all parts or elements; lacking nothing; whole; entire; full.

   a complete set of Mark Twain's writings.

   Synonyms:

   unbroken

   Antonyms:

   partial

2. finished; ended; concluded.

   a complete orbit.

3. having all the required or customary characteristics, skills, or the like; consummate; perfect in kind or quality.

   a complete scholar.

   Antonyms:

   defective

4. thorough; entire; total; undivided, uncompromised, or unmodified.

   a complete victory;

   a complete mess.

5. Grammar. having all modifying or complementary elements included.

   The complete subject of “The dappled pony gazed over the fence” is “The dappled pony.”

6. Football. Also completed. (of a forward pass) caught by a receiver.

7. Logic. (of a set of axioms) such that every true proposition able to be formulated in terms of the basic ideas of a given system is deducible from the set.

8. Engineering. noting a determinate truss having the least number of members required to connect the panel points so as to form a system of triangles.

9. (of persons) accomplished; skilled; expert.

10. Mathematics.

    1. of or relating to an algebraic system, as a field with an order relation defined on it, in which every set of elements of the system has a least upper bound.

    2. of or relating to a set in which every fundamental sequence converges to an element of the set.

    3. (of a lattice) having the property that every subset has a least upper bound and a greatest lower bound.

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verb (used with object)

• completes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• completed,
  past participle,  past
• completing
  present participle

1. to make whole or entire.

   I need three more words to complete the puzzle.

   Synonyms:

   close, conclude, terminate, achieve, accomplish, perfect, consummate

2. to make perfect.

   His parting look of impotent rage completed my revenge.

3. to bring to an end; finish.

   Has he completed his new novel yet?

4. to consummate.

5. Football. to execute (a forward pass) successfully.

   He completed 17 passes in 33 attempts.

complete British  

/ kəmˈpliːt /

adjective

1. having every necessary part or element; entire

2. ended; finished

3. (prenominal) thorough; absolute

   he is a complete rogue

4. perfect in quality or kind

   he is a complete scholar

5. (of a logical system) constituted such that a contradiction arises on the addition of any proposition that cannot be deduced from the axioms of the system Compare consistent

6. (of flowers) having sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels

7. archaic expert or skilled; accomplished

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verb

1. to make whole or perfect

2. to end; finish

3. (in land law) to pay any outstanding balance on a contract for the conveyance of land in exchange for the title deeds, so that the ownership of the land changes hands

4. American football (of a quarterback) to make a forward pass successfully

Usage

Occasionally there are objections to modifying complete with qualifiers like almost, more, most, nearly, and quite, because they suggest that complete is relative rather than absolute: an almost complete record; a more complete proposal; the most complete list available. However, such uses are fully standard and occur regularly in all varieties of spoken and written English. See also perfect, unique.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• completedness
  noun
• completeness
  noun
• completer
  noun
• completion
  noun
• precompleteness
  noun
• subcompleteness
  noun
• uncompleteness
  noun
• completable
  adjective
• completive
  adjective
• half-completed
  adjective
• quasi-complete
  adjective
• subcomplete
  adjective
• uncompletable
  adjective
• uncomplete
  adjective
• uncompleted
  adjective
• well-completed
  adjective
• completely
  adverb
• completively
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• completing
  present
• completed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• complete
  simple
• completes
  simple
• have completed
  perfect
• has completed
  perfect
• am completing
  progressive
• are completing
  progressive
• is completing
  progressive
• have been completing
  perfect progressive
• has been completing
  perfect progressive

Past

• completed
  simple
• had completed
  perfect
• was completing
  progressive
• were completing
  progressive
• had been completing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will complete
  simple
• will have completed
  perfect
• will be completing
  progressive
• will have been completing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of complete

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Middle French or directly from Latin complētus (past participle of complēre “to fill up, fulfill,” equivalent to com- com- + plē- fill + -tus past participle suffix

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Explanation

Complete means that something is finished, or has all of its necessary parts. When the mechanic hands you your keys, you hope that the work on your car is complete, and he hasn't left out a few important pieces of your engine. Complete can be used as an adjective to describe something that is whole or finished, like a complete turkey dinner, which includes not only the bird, but also the stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, and gravy. Another way to use complete is as a verb meaning to make something whole. Adding candles completes the birthday cake.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

complete completes completed completing

Construction is now 75% complete, and the “North of North” team hopes to have it ready in time for a potential Season 3.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

It would take about three years to complete and include six stairways, five elevators and an observation deck for visitors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

"The morning afterwards, the Spanish officials brought out... a version of events which was simply the complete opposite of what I experienced," he said.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

Just because you don’t have complete control over this money does not mean he is building a “separate life.”

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026

I’d be a complete stranger there, impossible to place or trace.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

Is it an assistant that completes tasks for one person, or can it be a “colleague” that partners with a team long-term?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

The intensely hot planet, classified as a "lava world," completes an orbit around its star in only one Earth day.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026

Luna has said the county’s attorneys maintain that the unredacted records can’t be released until it completes a “meet and confer” process with the Sheriff’s Department union, a claim that watchdogs have disputed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

His attempt began on Tuesday 22 September and, if he completes the planned 168 hours, he is due to reach his target early on Tuesday morning.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

The piece that completes the puzzle is string theory, according to which “the tally of possible universes stands at the almost incomprehensible 10500, a number so large it defies analogy.”

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

ElevenOneEleven will house as many as 500 people after it is completed in late 2028, and will include 52 units with subsidized affordable rents, the developers said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

The process is expected to be completed before Parliament rises for the Christmas recess on 17 December.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

This process, known as a "phage match," should be completed as quickly as possible before treatment begins.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026

A matter of years later, in 1884, the completed statue was a temporary landmark in Paris itself, before being disassembled for its trip across the Atlantic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

To commit “a seven-three” was to use seven words when three would do, and a “ninety-nine one hundred” meant quitting on a nearly completed job.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

Oil futures plummeted $7.97, or 8.3% to $88.12 a barrel in New York, completing the largest three-session percentage retreat in almost five years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

Some of his co-defendants in that case have been released in recent months after completing their sentences.

From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026

A formal Rogers endorsement followed, completing the betrayal.

From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2026

After handing over our personal information and completing several minor administrative tasks, we’re permitted to save 75 cents on yogurt.

From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026

From the classroom, someone turned the radio on: gallant Biafran soldiers were completing a mopping-up operation in a sector Ugwu did not hear clearly.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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Related Words

• accomplish
• achieve
• close
• conclude
• do
• end
• execute
• finish
• perform
• realize
• settle
• wrap up

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