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Which phrase means something is complete?

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complete

American  

[kuhm-pleet] / kəmˈplit /

adjective

1. having all parts or elements; lacking nothing; whole; entire; full.

   a complete set of Mark Twain's writings.

   Synonyms:

   unbroken

   Antonyms:

   partial

2. finished; ended; concluded.

   a complete orbit.

3. having all the required or customary characteristics, skills, or the like; consummate; perfect in kind or quality.

   a complete scholar.

   Antonyms:

   defective

4. thorough; entire; total; undivided, uncompromised, or unmodified.

   a complete victory;

   a complete mess.

5. Grammar. having all modifying or complementary elements included.

   The complete subject of “The dappled pony gazed over the fence” is “The dappled pony.”

6. Football. Also completed. (of a forward pass) caught by a receiver.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. (of persons) accomplished; skilled; expert.

10. Mathematics.

    1. 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.

    2. of or relating to a set in which every fundamental sequence converges to an element of the set.

    3. (of a lattice) having the property that every subset has a least upper bound and a greatest lower bound.

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verb (used with object)

• completes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• completed,
  past participle,  past
• completing
  present participle

1. to make whole or entire.

   I need three more words to complete the puzzle.

   Synonyms:

   close, conclude, terminate, achieve, accomplish, perfect, consummate

2. to make perfect.

   His parting look of impotent rage completed my revenge.

3. to bring to an end; finish.

   Has he completed his new novel yet?

4. to consummate.

5. Football. to execute (a forward pass) successfully.

   He completed 17 passes in 33 attempts.

complete British  

/ kəmˈpliːt /

adjective

1. having every necessary part or element; entire

2. ended; finished

3. (prenominal) thorough; absolute

   he is a complete rogue

4. perfect in quality or kind

   he is a complete scholar

5. (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

6. (of flowers) having sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels

7. archaic expert or skilled; accomplished

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verb

1. to make whole or perfect

2. to end; finish

3. (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

4. 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

• completedness
  noun
• completeness
  noun
• completer
  noun
• completion
  noun
• precompleteness
  noun
• subcompleteness
  noun
• uncompleteness
  noun
• completable
  adjective
• completive
  adjective
• half-completed
  adjective
• quasi-complete
  adjective
• subcomplete
  adjective
• uncompletable
  adjective
• uncomplete
  adjective
• uncompleted
  adjective
• well-completed
  adjective
• completely
  adverb
• completively
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• completing
  present
• completed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• complete
  simple
• completes
  simple
• have completed
  perfect
• has completed
  perfect
• am completing
  progressive
• are completing
  progressive
• is completing
  progressive
• have been completing
  perfect progressive
• has been completing
  perfect progressive

Past

• completed
  simple
• had completed
  perfect
• was completing
  progressive
• were completing
  progressive
• had been completing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will complete
  simple
• will have completed
  perfect
• will be completing
  progressive
• will have been completing
  perfect progressive

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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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

complete completes completed completing

"They are not prepared to accept that the investigation is complete simply because the American authorities have decided not to take the matter further," he added.

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026

Alongside the shoulder blade, archaeologists recovered a nearly complete right hand, two ribs from the left side, a fragment of a right rib, and seven teeth.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026

“He doesn’t need to shoulder the blame of the failure of the complete result.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026

“Only by gaining a more complete understanding of our own maritime environment can we safeguard national security,” Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te said at the launch.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

After my father’s father died, Babci handed complete control of the store to my father and moved into a rustic stone cottage in a small mountain village.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

“Libertad” completes a trilogy begun with those EPs, with all three titles forming the phrase “pan, tierra, libertad.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

It completes a 2-0 series win for Canada after the two sides also shared a 26-26 draw in Exeter in September.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

Once Sentinel-3C completes commissioning, it will contribute to global sea-level monitoring alongside established satellite missions such as Copernicus Sentinel-6 and Jason.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

Even the same model might use a different number of tokens each time it completes a task.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

“I believe Adiah will be quite accomplished in a few years, once she completes her training.”

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

He completed 27 of 37 passes for 343 yards and four touchdowns with one interception.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026

The countries had completed promised action plans "and will no longer be subject to the FATF's increased monitoring process," it added.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

The Met said on Thursday that it intended to make further referrals to "relevant overseas law enforcement agencies", a process which it expected to be completed "in the coming days".

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

The completed mission, designated U.S. spacewalk 100, marked Menon's fourth spacewalk and Kutryk's first.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026

The crowd cheered wildly; Thorn, Valley, and Seven screamed and clapped as each toad completed its run.

From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega

“I’ve had a great time these last few weeks, completing 20 shows and singing for wonderful audiences across the USA, but unexpectedly I’ve been hit with a bad case of the flu,” Jones wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

Spending another 15 minutes searching for a particular brand of yogurt may represent good service, but it also consumes time that a worker could otherwise spend completing another order.

From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026

Assaf said Fidelity cannot tell from the anonymized data if those completing conversions had help from advisers but that she would presume they did.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026

In completing the set of a hundred in a T20, double hundred in an ODI and triple century in a Test, Brook has matched the previously unique treble of West Indies' legend Chris Gayle.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

Grandma was completing the edge of a great round box of birchbark, one that she would use to store her red willow kinnikinnick.

From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich

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Related Words

• accomplish
• achieve
• close
• conclude
• do
• end
• execute
• finish
• perform
• realize
• settle
• wrap up

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