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

However, despite such a strong finish to his first campaign, last season was much more of a test for the teenager.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

Even if Soriot pushes this or another large transaction over the finish line, it need not be a disaster.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

They took longer to finish tasks that required effort, and their breakpoints decreased.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026

The hard part, Consuelos says, is getting a show “over the finish line.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

Whether they sprinted to the end or dragged themselves across the finish line, they were all so proud.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Last year, there was one: Journalism, who sandwiched a win in the Preakness around runner-up finishes in the Derby and Belmont.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

His 13 league goals for Brighton last season came from 12.5 expected goals, a steady return that reflects a striker who finishes at expectation and rarely wastes chances.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

In contrast, gregarious and charismatic Roland Mackenzie finishes at Oxford with a less impressive second-class degree in physics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

He added bespoke Poliform fixtures and finishes as well as indoor LED lighting.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026

Celia finishes stretching her calves and juts her hips to one side to stretch her hip flexors, and then she squints at something behind me.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

CEO Jeff Tangney pointed out on Doximity’s earnings call that the company’s “winning model” had a 4.8% error rate, compared with Anthropic’s Fable 5, which finished with a 13.6% error rate.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026

Third, the raw, unpolished versions of models must be released—not just the finished consumer products.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

She finished with three points and two assists in 16 minutes off the bench.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

Dottin then whacked back-to-back fours to keep her side in contention but Nicola Carey held her nerve with six needed off the final ball and Spirit finished 119-8.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

When he’s finished, I tell him I’m fine, but that I don’t want to see him right now.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Chelsea are out of European football next season after finishing 10th in a campaign where Enzo Maresca left the club and Liam Rosenior was dismissed.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

Along 10th Street nearby, home builder David Sutor was putting the finishing touches on a new four-bedroom house that a local buyer just snapped up for $273,000.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

Then I added the rigatoni and enough pasta water to turn the vegetables velvety, finishing each bowl with the crisp crumbs, little pillows of chèvre and torn basil.

From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026

“She looks forward to finishing the tour and ending it on a high note, both healthily and happily,” the statement said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

After finishing his studying, he often took long walks at three in the morning and didn’t fall asleep till four.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Related Words

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