finish

verb · noun

Simple meaning

Have an end, in a temporal, spatial, or quantitative sense.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

finish

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US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈfɪnɪʃ

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.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

Have an end, in a temporal, spatial, or quantitative sense; either spatial or metaphorical
Come or bring to a finish or an end; others finished in over 4 hours"
transitive
To complete (something).
transitive
To put an end to; to destroy.
transitive
To change an animal's food supply in the months before it is due for slaughter, with the intention of fattening the animal.
transitive
To apply a treatment to (a surface or similar).

noun

An end; the end of anything.
A protective coating given to wood or metal and other surfaces.
The act of finishing
“His best finish in a major tournament was third.”
A finishing touch; careful elaboration; polish.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency: Common
Typical Use: Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Have an end, in a temporal, spatial, or quantitative sense; either spatial or metaphorical

Used this way, finish is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Not strongly marked
How common: Moderately common
Connotation: No strong connotation
Usage feel: Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use finish

“The boat had a metallic finish.”noun
“Excitement grew as the finish neared.”noun

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

surface finishfinish line

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

finishedadjectiveInflected form
Brought to the desired final state.
finishingnounInflected form
A decorative texture or appearance of a surface (or the substance that gives it that appearance).
finishernounInflected form
A relief pitcher who can protect a lead in the last inning or two of the game.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

finish outverbCompound term
Fill out.
finish upverbCompound term
Finish a task completely.
finish coatnounCompound term
The final coating of (eg., paint, plaster, varnish, etc.).
finishing coatnounCompound term
The final coating of (eg., paint, plaster, varnish, etc.).
finishing linenounCompound term
A line indicating the location of the finish of a race.
finishing schoolnounCompound term
A private school for girls that emphasizes training in cultural and social activities.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: have an end or in a temporal or spatial

Antonyms

Sense: end

beginningcommencement

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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.