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.

“The Russians achieved most of their goals without moving many of their own units,” said Bartłomiej Kot, a Polish security analyst who played the Polish prime minister in the exercise.

From The Wall Street Journal

“We are not going to be able to achieve guardrails by working with bosses who want no guardrails,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times

It has since achieved a $14 billion market capitalization and added $3.5 billion of cash to its balance sheet, including $3 billion raised last year from a hedge fund affiliate of Susquehanna International Group.

From Barron's

The PEG ratio makes Salesforce stock look cheap relative to its growth potential, and the company could achieve that growth over the long term.

From Barron's

Cook emphasized the Federal Open Market Committee’s commitment to its inflation mandate, highlighting the importance of returning to a disinflationary path to achieve the 2% target.

From Barron's

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.