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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.

An international team of researchers has now achieved that goal by demonstrating a quantized transverse drift of light.

From Science Daily

When they combined the stochastic siren method with existing measurements from individual black hole mergers, they achieved a more precise estimate of the Hubble constant.

From Science Daily

It’s hard to imagine a greater accomplishment than to achieve peace while stiffening the sinews of deterrence.

From The Wall Street Journal

The only way for Iranians to achieve political change, she said, was on their own.

From The Wall Street Journal

Wars fought from the air alone rarely achieve conclusive victories or regime change.

From BBC