achieve
verb
Simple meaning
To succeed in doing something after working hard for it.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhcheevSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
əˈtʃiv
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive
To obtain, or gain (a desired result, objective etc.), as the result of exertion; to succeed in gaining; to win.
transitivenow literary
To obtain (a material thing).
transitive
To carry out successfully; to accomplish.
To gain with effort
“She achieved her goal despite setbacks.”
intransitive
To succeed in something, now especially in academic performance.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To obtain, or gain (a desired result, objective etc.), as the result of exertion; to succeed in gaining; to win.
This meaning of 'achieve' focuses on gaining a desired outcome or goal after effort. It's often used with abstract nouns like 'success,' 'peace,' or 'victory.' It highlights the result of sustained work. This sense is very common and positive.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Positive and appreciative
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where you'll really hear it
Motivational speech
“With hard work, you can achieve your wildest dreams.”
Team meeting
“We must work together to achieve our quarterly sales target.”
Sports commentary
“The team fought hard to achieve a well-deserved victory.”
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use achieve
- “She achieved her goal despite setbacks.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
A person with a record of successes.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
The action of accomplishing something.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.