finish

American  

[fin-ish] / ˈfɪn ɪʃ /

verb (used with object)

• finishes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• finished,
  past participle,  past
• finishing
  present participle

1. to bring (something) to an end or to completion; complete.

   to finish a novel; to finish breakfast.

   Synonyms:

   close, conclude, terminate

2. to come to the end of (a course, period of time, etc.).

   to finish school.

3. to use completely (often followed by up oroff ).

   to finish up a can of paint; to finish off the rest of the milk.

4. to overcome completely; destroy or kill (often followed byoff ).

   This spray will finish off the cockroaches.

5. to complete and perfect in detail; put the final touches on (sometimes followed byup ).

   He decided to finish his plan more carefully.

   She finished up a painting.

6. to put a finish on (wood, metal, etc.).

   We finished the desk in antique red lacquer.

7. to perfect (a person) in education, accomplishments, social graces, etc.

8. to ready (livestock) for market by feeding a diet calculated to produce the desired weight.

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verb (used without object)

• finishes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• finished,
  past participle,  past
• finishing
  present participle

1. to come to an end.

   The course finishes in January.

2. to complete a course, project, etc. (sometimes followed byup ).

   I finished before he did. It was nine o'clock when we finished up.

3. (of livestock) to become fattened for market.

noun

• finishes
  plural

1. the end or conclusion; the final part or last stage.

2. the end of a hunt, race, etc..

   a close finish.

3. a decisive ending.

   a fight to the finish.

4. the quality of being finished or completed with smoothness, elegance, etc..

   to admire the finish of one's writing.

5. educational or social polish.

6. the manner in which an object is perfected or finished in its preparation, or an effect imparted in finishing.

7. the surface coating or texture of wood, metal, etc.

8. something used or serving to finish, complete, or perfect a thing.

9. woodwork or the like, especially in the interior of a building, not essential to the structure but used for purposes of ornament, neatness, etc..

   a finish of black walnut.

10. Also called finishing coat.  Also called finish coat,.  a final coat of plaster or paint.

11. a material for application in finishing.

12. Animal Husbandry. the fat tissue of livestock.

13. the flavor remaining in the mouth after a wine has been swallowed.

verb phrase

1. finish with

   1. to bring to completion.

      She's finished with her latest novel.

   2. to put aside, break all relations with, or reject finally.

      He's finished with football and will play only baseball now.

      After the way they treated us, we're finished with them.

finish British  

/ ˈfɪnɪʃ /

verb

1. to bring to an end; complete, conclude, or stop

2. to be at or come to the end; use up

3. to bring to a desired or complete condition

4. to put a particular surface texture on (wood, cloth, etc)

5. (often foll by off) to destroy or defeat completely

6. to train (a person) in social graces and talents

7. 1. to end a relationship or association

   2. to stop punishing a person

      I haven't finished with you yet!

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noun

1. the final or last stage or part; end

2. 1. the death, destruction, or absolute defeat of a person or one side in a conflict

      a fight to the finish

   2. the person, event, or thing that brings this about

3. 1. the surface texture or appearance of wood, cloth, etc

      a rough finish

   2. a preparation, such as varnish, used to produce such a texture

4. a thing, event, etc, that completes

5. completeness and high quality of workmanship

6. refinement in social graces

7. sport ability to sprint at the end of a race

   he has a good finish

finish Idioms  

1. see from soup to nuts (start to finish); in at the death (finish).

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Synonym Usage

See end ¹.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• finisher
  noun
• prefinish
  verb (used with object)
• nonfinishing
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• finishes
  plural

Participles

• finishing
  present
• finished
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• finish
  simple
• finishes
  simple
• have finished
  perfect
• has finished
  perfect
• am finishing
  progressive
• are finishing
  progressive
• is finishing
  progressive
• have been finishing
  perfect progressive
• has been finishing
  perfect progressive

Past

• finished
  simple
• had finished
  perfect
• was finishing
  progressive
• were finishing
  progressive
• had been finishing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will finish
  simple
• will have finished
  perfect
• will be finishing
  progressive
• will have been finishing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of finish

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English finisshen, from Anglo-French, Middle French finiss-, long stem of finir, from Latin fīnīre “to end”; see fine ¹

Explanation

To finish something is to complete it or bring it to a conclusion. If you finished a race, you completed it — even if you didn’t come in first. Finishing is about concluding. If you finished a novel, you read the whole thing. Finishing a job means the job is done. This word can also refer to a coating or polish used to make furniture look nicer or fancier. If you say someone has a finished look about them, they don’t actually have a coating or polish, of course — but the effect is the same. They have a clean, cultured, polished appearance.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

finish finishes finished finishing

In February 2025, Newsom signed an executive order requiring the board to finish the regulations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

Keep detailed notes of times you’ve stayed late, completed to-do’s that weren’t on your list or helped a co-worker finish a project.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

If we thought Stokes' destiny was to end with an Ashes win next summer, then the all-rounder was unable to finish his story.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

Readers, too, will finish this vast, teeming novel with a sense of a world transformed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

We both speed up as we get close to the finish line, but only a little.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Riso al forno — literally “rice from the oven” — is Italian baked rice, an adaptable format in which partially cooked rice finishes with sauce and cheese.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

Bream said the Modesto facility, which finishes and manufactures several types of beverage closures, will remain in operation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

However, partial eclipses -- which occur as the Moon starts and finishes crossing the Sun -- will last around one hour and 45 minutes.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

Flintoff also spent two seasons as Northern Superchargers men's coach in The Hundred, leading the Leeds-based side to fourth and third-placed finishes.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

After a baby finishes his 12th month, we all say that the child is one year old; he has finished his first 12 months of life.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

In Florida’s Black-majority 20th District, which was redrawn this year, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz finished ahead of four Black rivals in a crowded field, and will face Brent Andersen, an insurance broker, in November.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

As a 19-year-old in 2014 he stunned then world number one Rafael Nadal on his Centre Court debut, and finished runner-up at Wimbledon eight years later.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

A rare breed of business leaders never finished school—and used the C-suite as their classroom.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

When Kennedy finished the 2022 documentary, she thought she was done with the topic.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

Cameron finished his meal, cleaned his fingers with a napkin carefully.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

But, notably, Carter’s director’s cut arrives on Hulu on the heels of Ryan Coogler finishing an “X-Files” reboot pilot for the streamer.

From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026

Turkle was finishing the footnotes for her upcoming book, “Artificial Intimacy: Who We Become When We Talk to Machines.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

He was an immediate hit with the Yankees, winning 21 games in 1979 and finishing second in the American League Cy Young voting, then won 22 in ’80.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

On leaving: Behrens Wu went straight from finishing an economics degree at St. Gallen to the M.B.A. program, but wasn’t sure what she wanted to do.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

To me, finishing eighth grade with the second-highest GPA felt like a failure, even though lots of people told me it shouldn’t.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Related Words

• accomplish
• achieve
• clinch
• close
• complete
• conclude
• do
• end
• make
• play out
• settle
• stop
• wind up
• wrap up