Achieve Definition & Meaning

American

British

Related Words

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms achieve American [uh-cheev] / əˈtʃiv /

verb (used with object)

achieved, achieving

1. to bring to a successful end; carry through; accomplish.

   The police crackdown on speeders achieved its purpose.

   Synonyms: reach, realize, execute, effect, complete, consummate

2. to get or attain by effort; gain; obtain.

   to achieve victory.

   Synonyms: win, realize

verb (used without object)

achieved, achieving

1. to bring about an intended result; accomplish some purpose or effect.

achieve British / əˈtʃiːv /

verb

1. to bring to a successful conclusion; accomplish; attain

2. to gain as by hard work or effort

   to achieve success

"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

Related Words

See do 1.

Other Word Forms

• achievable adjective
• achiever noun
• outachieve verb (used with object)
• preachieved adjective
• superachiever noun
• unachievable adjective
• unachieved adjective
• well-achieved adjective

Etymology

Origin of achieve

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English acheven, from Old French achever “to finish,” from phrase a chef “to (the) head,” i.e., “to conclusion”; chief

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.

Thanks to AI, the corps achieved that with only 20 people, compared with more than 2,000 staffers employed in Iraq, she said.

From The Wall Street Journal

"Unfortunately, not all habits are created equal. Exercise was the exception in our findings, as it was often triggered by habit, but less likely to be achieved purely 'on autopilot', compared to other behaviors."

From Science Daily

"That's just an attitude to try and allow guys to be as free as possible to implement the skills and tactics that you're trying to achieve."

From BBC

"Paralympians are ready to redefine possibility, push the boundaries of human ability and show what humans can achieve when respected and provided with chances to succeed," said Parsons.

From BBC

Students should learn to confront and collaborate on real community challenges, working through differences to achieve common goals.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• accomplish
• attain
• bring about
• carry out
• complete
• conclude
• do
• earn
• enact
• end
• gain
• manage
• obtain
• produce
• reach
• realize
• resolve
• settle
• sign
• solve

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.