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

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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

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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”; see chief

Explanation

If you achieve something, you've reached a goal. Achievements aren't accidents. If you stumble upon a treasure chest, you haven't achieved something; however, achieving a promotion to become CEO is another story. If someone asks you to give an example of the word achieve, you can always reach for Shakespeare's much quoted remark from his play Twelfth Night. In Act II, Scene V, the character Malvolio says, ". . . some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em." Pundits like to throw that quote around when talking about politicians. Of course, they usually disagree about if, when, and how the politician achieved greatness.

Example Sentences

With six satellites currently in orbit, AST SpaceMobile needs between 45 and 60 operational to offer a commercial service in northern latitudes, a goal it is aiming to achieve this year.

From Barron's • Apr. 20, 2026

"I am filled with optimism about what we can achieve in the years to come," Ternus said.

From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026

It’s unclear if Helion will be able to achieve its goal of building a fusion-powered machine, but Altman’s shares in the company would have shot up if the deal went through.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 19, 2026

That means the S&P 500 was able to achieve a new record with only 2.4% of the index’s stocks at highs of their own, which isn’t something that happens very often.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 19, 2026

“Is that it? What exactly did you hope to achieve, following in the strikebreakers as though you were one of them? With those clothes, you stood out like a fly in soup.”

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Related Words

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