complete
Americanadjective
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having all parts or elements; lacking nothing; whole; entire; full.
a complete set of Mark Twain's writings.
- Synonyms:
- unbroken
- Antonyms:
- partial
-
a complete orbit.
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having all the required or customary characteristics, skills, or the like; consummate; perfect in kind or quality.
a complete scholar.
- Antonyms:
- defective
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thorough; entire; total; undivided, uncompromised, or unmodified.
a complete victory;
a complete mess.
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Grammar. having all modifying or complementary elements included.
The complete subject of “The dappled pony gazed over the fence” is “The dappled pony.”
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Football. Also completed. (of a forward pass) caught by a receiver.
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Logic. (of a set of axioms) such that every true proposition able to be formulated in terms of the basic ideas of a given system is deducible from the set.
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Engineering. noting a determinate truss having the least number of members required to connect the panel points so as to form a system of triangles.
-
(of persons) accomplished; skilled; expert.
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Mathematics.
-
of or relating to an algebraic system, as a field with an order relation defined on it, in which every set of elements of the system has a least upper bound.
-
of or relating to a set in which every fundamental sequence converges to an element of the set.
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(of a lattice) having the property that every subset has a least upper bound and a greatest lower bound.
-
verb (used with object)
-
completes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
completed,
past participle, past
-
completing
present participle
-
to make whole or entire.
I need three more words to complete the puzzle.
- Synonyms:
- close, conclude, terminate, achieve, accomplish, perfect, consummate
-
to make perfect.
His parting look of impotent rage completed my revenge.
-
to bring to an end; finish.
Has he completed his new novel yet?
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to consummate.
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Football. to execute (a forward pass) successfully.
He completed 17 passes in 33 attempts.
adjective
-
having every necessary part or element; entire
-
ended; finished
-
(prenominal) thorough; absolute
he is a complete rogue
-
perfect in quality or kind
he is a complete scholar
-
(of a logical system) constituted such that a contradiction arises on the addition of any proposition that cannot be deduced from the axioms of the system Compare consistent
-
(of flowers) having sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels
-
archaic expert or skilled; accomplished
verb
-
to make whole or perfect
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to end; finish
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(in land law) to pay any outstanding balance on a contract for the conveyance of land in exchange for the title deeds, so that the ownership of the land changes hands
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American football (of a quarterback) to make a forward pass successfully
Usage
Occasionally there are objections to modifying complete with qualifiers like almost, more, most, nearly, and quite, because they suggest that complete is relative rather than absolute: an almost complete record; a more complete proposal; the most complete list available. However, such uses are fully standard and occur regularly in all varieties of spoken and written English. See also perfect, unique.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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completednessnoun
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completenessnoun
-
completernoun
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completionnoun
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precompletenessnoun
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subcompletenessnoun
-
uncompletenessnoun
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completableadjective
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completiveadjective
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half-completedadjective
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quasi-completeadjective
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subcompleteadjective
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uncompletableadjective
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uncompleteadjective
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uncompletedadjective
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well-completedadjective
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completelyadverb
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completivelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
completesimple
-
completessimple
-
have completedperfect
-
has completedperfect
-
am completingprogressive
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are completingprogressive
-
is completingprogressive
-
have been completingperfect progressive
-
has been completingperfect progressive
Past
-
completedsimple
-
had completedperfect
-
was completingprogressive
-
were completingprogressive
-
had been completingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of complete
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Middle French or directly from Latin complētus (past participle of complēre “to fill up, fulfill,” equivalent to com- com- + plē- fill + -tus past participle suffix
Explanation
Complete means that something is finished, or has all of its necessary parts. When the mechanic hands you your keys, you hope that the work on your car is complete, and he hasn't left out a few important pieces of your engine. Complete can be used as an adjective to describe something that is whole or finished, like a complete turkey dinner, which includes not only the bird, but also the stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, and gravy. Another way to use complete is as a verb meaning to make something whole. Adding candles completes the birthday cake.
Vocabulary lists containing complete
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 2
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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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.
See Examples For:
There was joy in pretending this was a complete coincidence and not a highly probable event; these were all ladies with bangs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
But parts of Greenland, Iceland and Spain experienced the complete darkness and spectacle of a total eclipse.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
"They recruited US citizens to engage in sham marriages, arranged sham wedding ceremonies complete with officiants, wedding attire, photographers, and attendees," McDonald said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
An escape clause hidden in Elon Musk’s $1 trillion Tesla pay package would mark half of his performance targets complete if the company is acquired by Musk’s SpaceX.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
It was spilling all over that railcar and making a complete mess of things.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
She anticipates that a third hospital, Mount Elizabeth, could also transition to the revenue-sharing model after it completes its enhancements.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
March 16: The Boeing 737 MAX 7 successfully completes its first voyage from Renton, Washington.
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
After Blue Origin completes its rendezvous and docking tests, and after the Artemis III crew launches aboard SLS, SpaceX will send its Starship test article into orbit.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026
Micron Technology’s latest earnings are further fueling SK Hynix’s stock — and analysts are intrigued about what’s to come after the South Korean memory giant completes its U.S. listing next month.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026
I just looked over every name—every story—that completes these tapes.
From "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher
Ampol completed the A$1.165 billion acquisition of the EG Australia business at the end of June.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
When Michael Dwyer and Justin Krook started filming “Travis Barker: Louder Than Fear” in 2017, they expected it to be completed within just a few years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Since then, animal transfers need bespoke agreements, often requiring paperwork to be completed between the UK and several European countries.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
“I finally feel like I have completed the promise I made to all those hundreds of investors that I talked to in the spring of 2020,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
“The year just completed was one in which I underperformed nearly all my peers and friends by, variably, thirty or forty percentage points,” he wrote.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
The mogul has told investors the company is willing to negotiate a settlement with Bonta in hopes of completing the massive merger as soon as possible.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Someone with aphasia may still enjoy playing chess, completing sudoku puzzles, or managing a family's finances.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
Griffin later said his firm “probably will go through” with completing a new office building in New York.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Apprentices usually spend most of their time working and part of their time completing training with an employer, college, university or online provider.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
But the real prize for completing the quest was an incredibly rare artifact: Hayata’s Beta Capsule.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
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.
