establish

[ih-stab-lish]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR establish ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to found, institute, build, or bring into being on a firm or stable basis: to establish a university; to establish a medical practice.

to install or settle in a position, place, business, etc.: to establish one's child in business.

to show to be valid or true; prove: to establish the facts of the matter.

to cause to be accepted or recognized: to establish a custom; She established herself as a leading surgeon.

to bring about permanently: to establish order.

to enact, appoint, or ordain for permanence, as a law; fix unalterably.

to make (a church) a national or state institution.

Cards. to obtain control of (a suit) so that one can win all the subsequent tricks in it.

Origin of establish

1325–75; Middle English establissen < Middle French establiss-, extended stem of establir < Latin stabilīre, akin to stabilis stable²

Related formses·tab·lish·a·ble, adjectivees·tab·lish·er, nounqua·si-es·tab·lished, adjectivere·es·tab·lish, verb (used with object)su·per·es·tab·lish, verb (used with object)un·es·tab·lish·a·ble, adjective

Synonyms for establish

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR establish ON THESAURUS.COM

1. form, organize. See fix. 3. verify, substantiate. 6. decree.

Antonyms for establish

1. abolish. 3. disprove.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for establish

authorize, settle, form, provide, create, start, base, build, install, put, found, inaugurate, institute, enact, prove, formulate, ratify, make, confirm, determine

Examples from the Web for establish

Contemporary Examples of establish

Huckabee will also need to establish a reliable fundraising base, something that up until now has proved to be elusive.
Can Huckabee Convert the GOP’s Moneymen?
Lloyd Green
January 4, 2015
The king set about punishing Marshal, opposing his attempts to establish his family in their lands in Ireland and Wales.
England’s Greatest Knight Puts ‘Game of Thrones’ to Shame
William O’Connor
December 9, 2014
They backed him when the Sandinistas tried to establish their own Cuban-inspired dictatorship.
China’s Nicaragua Canal Could Spark a New Central America Revolution
Nina Lakhani
November 30, 2014
With Mac and Jesse we wanted to establish a friendship that was mostly a product of their common situation and enclosed world.
Nitehawk Shorts Festival: ‘Brute,’ a Twisted Take on Playing in the Dark
Julia Grinberg
November 28, 2014
And she credits her mother for helping to establish who that woman was early on: independent, free, self-reliant.
Diane von Furstenberg: How I Learned to Love My Wrap Dress
Lizzie Crocker
October 27, 2014

Historical Examples of establish

This must have been the case, though Keightley had failed to establish it.
De Libris: Prose and Verse
Austin Dobson
Passages taken at haphazard will suffice to establish my contention.
The Man Shakespeare
Frank Harris
Besides, he did not care to establish any relations with the people in the house.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
He would fight this disease before it could establish a hold.
Dust
Mr. and Mrs. Haldeman-Julius
He affected singularity, in order to establish his claims to genius.
Tales And Novels, Volume 3 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth

British Dictionary definitions for establish

establish

verb (usually tr)

to make secure or permanent in a certain place, condition, job, etcto establish one's usefulness; to establish a house

to create or set up (an organization, etc) on or as if on a permanent basisto establish a company

to prove correct or free from doubt; validateto establish a fact

to cause (a principle, theory, etc) to be widely or permanently acceptedto establish a precedent

to give (a Church) the status of a national institution

(of a person) to become recognized and acceptedhe established himself as a reliable GP

(in works of imagination) to cause (a character, place, etc) to be credible and recognizedthe first scene established the period

cards to make winners of (the remaining cards of a suit) by forcing out opponents' top cards

(also intr) botany

to cause (a plant) to grow or (of a plant) to grow in a new placethe birch scrub has established over the past 25 years
to become or cause to become a sapling or adult plant from a seedling

Derived Formsestablisher, noun

Word Origin for establish

C14: from Old French establir, from Latin stabilīre to make firm, from stabilis stable ²

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

Word Origin and History for establish

late 14c., from Old French establiss-, present participle stem of establir (12c., Modern French établir) "cause to stand still, establish, stipulate, set up, erect, build," from Latin stabilire "make stable," from stabilis "stable" (see stable (adj.)).

For initial e-, see especial. Related: Established; establishing. An established church or religion is one sanctioned by the state.