establish

[ ih-stab-lish ]

verb (used with object)

1. to found, institute, build, or bring into being on a firm or stable basis:

   to establish a university; to establish a medical practice.

   Synonyms: organize, form

   Antonyms: abolish

2. to install or settle in a position, place, business, etc.:

   to establish one's child in business.

3. to show to be valid or true; prove:

   to establish the facts of the matter.

   Synonyms: substantiate, verify

   Antonyms: disprove

4. to cause to be accepted or recognized:

   to establish a custom; She established herself as a leading surgeon.

5. to bring about permanently:

   to establish order.

6. to enact, appoint, or ordain for permanence, as a law; fix unalterably.

   Synonyms: decree

7. to make (a church) a national or state institution.
8. Cards. to obtain control of (a suit) so that one can win all the subsequent tricks in it.

establish

/ ɪˈstæblɪʃ /

verb

1. to make secure or permanent in a certain place, condition, job, etc

   to establish one's usefulness

   to establish a house

2. to create or set up (an organization, etc) on or as if on a permanent basis

   to establish a company

3. to prove correct or free from doubt; validate

   to establish a fact

4. to cause (a principle, theory, etc) to be widely or permanently accepted

   to establish a precedent

5. to give (a Church) the status of a national institution
6. (of a person) to become recognized and accepted

   he established himself as a reliable GP

7. (in works of imagination) to cause (a character, place, etc) to be credible and recognized

   the first scene established the period

8. cards to make winners of (the remaining cards of a suit) by forcing out opponents' top cards
9. also intr botany
   1. to cause (a plant) to grow or (of a plant) to grow in a new place

      the birch scrub has established over the past 25 years

   2. to become or cause to become a sapling or adult plant from a seedling

Derived Forms

• esˈtablisher, noun

Other Words From

• es·tab·lish·a·ble adjective
• es·tab·lish·er noun
• re·es·tab·lish verb (used with object)
• su·per·es·tab·lish verb (used with object)
• un·es·tab·lish·a·ble adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of establish¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English establissen, establishen, from Middle French establiss-, extended stem of establir, from Latin stabilīre, derivative of stabilis stable ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of establish¹

C14: from Old French establir, from Latin stabilīre to make firm, from stabilis stable ²

Synonym Study

See fix.

Example Sentences

Huckabee will also need to establish a reliable fundraising base, something that up until now has proved to be elusive.

From The Daily Beast

The king set about punishing Marshal, opposing his attempts to establish his family in their lands in Ireland and Wales.

From The Daily Beast

They backed him when the Sandinistas tried to establish their own Cuban-inspired dictatorship.

From The Daily Beast

With Mac and Jesse we wanted to establish a friendship that was mostly a product of their common situation and enclosed world.

From The Daily Beast

And she credits her mother for helping to establish who that woman was early on: independent, free, self-reliant.

From The Daily Beast

Children, and the building of a city shall establish a name, but a blameless wife shall be counted above them both.

From Project Gutenberg

A proclamation was issued by government to establish a manufactory for white paper in England.

From Project Gutenberg

Siyes desired a man who would overthrow the Directory and establish a dictatorship: Barras was coquetting with the Bourbons.

From Project Gutenberg

So one's common sense fails to establish a definite reasonable time.

From Project Gutenberg

Congress resolved to establish the bank of North America, being the first regularly established bank in the country.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• authorize
• base
• build
• create
• enact
• form
• found
• inaugurate
• install
• institute
• provide
• put
• settle
• start