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View synonyms for establish

establish

[ih-stab-lish]

verb (used with object)

  1. to found, institute, build, or bring into being on a firm or stable basis.

    to establish a university; to establish a medical practice.

    Synonyms: organize, form
    Antonyms: abolish
  2. to install or settle in a position, place, business, etc..

    to establish one's child in business.

  3. to show to be valid or true; prove.

    to establish the facts of the matter.

    Synonyms: substantiate, verify
    Antonyms: disprove
  4. to cause to be accepted or recognized.

    to establish a custom; She established herself as a leading surgeon.

  5. to bring about permanently.

    to establish order.

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

    Synonyms: decree
  7. to make (a church) a national or state institution.

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



establish

/ ɪˈstæblɪʃ /

verb

  1. to make secure or permanent in a certain place, condition, job, etc

    to establish one's usefulness

    to establish a house

  2. to create or set up (an organization, etc) on or as if on a permanent basis

    to establish a company

  3. to prove correct or free from doubt; validate

    to establish a fact

  4. to cause (a principle, theory, etc) to be widely or permanently accepted

    to establish a precedent

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

  6. (of a person) to become recognized and accepted

    he established himself as a reliable GP

  7. (in works of imagination) to cause (a character, place, etc) to be credible and recognized

    the first scene established the period

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

  9. (also intr) botany

    1. to cause (a plant) to grow or (of a plant) to grow in a new place

      the birch scrub has established over the past 25 years

    2. to become or cause to become a sapling or adult plant from a seedling

“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
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Other Word Forms

  • establishable adjective
  • establisher noun
  • reestablish verb (used with object)
  • superestablish verb (used with object)
  • unestablishable adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of establish1

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English establissen, establishen, from Middle French establiss-, extended stem of establir, from Latin stabilīre, derivative of stabilis stable 2
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Word History and Origins

Origin of establish1

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

See fix.
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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.

The accords include so-called safety zones to be established around operations and assets that countries build on the Moon.

From BBC

Emergency services are on the scene and have begun helping people, he said, adding that information regarding the injured was still being established.

From BBC

Even as she established herself in Germany, the dream of fighting in Norway never left her.

From BBC

I don’t really keep track, but once something as extreme as death metal has been around for decades, it becomes an established part of the music scene.

The firm vowed to establish the UK's biggest native woodland and peatland restoration project, supported by sales of its Lost Forest lager.

From BBC

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estab.established