achieve

present singular third person achieves · participle present achieving · participle past achieved · past achieved · first person past singular achieved · archaic present second person singular achievest · past second person singular achieved · archaic past second person singular achievedst · present singular third person achieves · archaic present singular third person achieveth · past singular third person achieved · past plural achieved · past subjunctive achieved · participle present achieving · participle past achieved · alternative obsolete atchieve

1. transitiveTo carry out or conclude (something, as a task) successfully; to accomplish.First known use 14th c.

   to achieve one’s goals

   5 more examples

   Hannah achieved her lifelong dream of winning a medal at the Olympics.

   You can achieve anything if you put your mind to it.

   [T]here could not be a more cruell Tyrant appointed to atchieve a more abominable enterpriſe.

   1513 (date written), Thomas More, “The Pittifvll Life of King Edward the Fifth”, in The Historie of the Pitifvll Life, and Unfortunate Death of Edward the Fifth, and the then Duke of Yorke His Brother: […], London: […] Thomas Payne for the Company of Stationers, and are to be sold by Mich[ael] Young, […], published 1641, →OCLC, pages 2–3

   [W]hat to the leaving in a manner no Empire at all but vvhat is Sacerdotal, raiſing it above all Kings, Emperours and Chriſtian Princes vvhatſoever? and this atchieved by ſuch perſons as vvere the moſt vvicked of any that bore the name of Sovereign Holineſs?

   1664, H[enry] More, chapter VIII, in A Modest Enquiry into the Mystery of Iniquity, […], London: […] J[ames] Flesher for W[illiam] Morden […], →OCLC, book II, page 143

   For this, the god conſtrains the Greek to roam, / A hopeleſs exile from his native home, / From death alone exempt—but ceaſe to mourn; / Let all combine t’atchieve his vviſh’d return: […]

   1725, Homer, “Book I”, in [Elijah Fenton], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], volume I, London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC, page 17, lines 96–99

   Synonyms: compass, fulfil, realize, walk away with

2. transitiveTo gain or obtain (a desired objective, result, etc.) through effort or skill; to succeed in attaining (an objective, result, etc.); to win.First known use 14th c.

   VVhy ſome are borne great, ſome atchieue greatneſſe, and ſome haue greatneſſe throvvne vpon them.

   c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i], page 275, column 1

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   And the frenche men entred in a mong the thyckeſt of them⸝ and ſpared no more to flee thẽ [them]⸝ than they had ben dogges⸝ and ſurely they had good cauſe ſo to do. For if yͤ flemynges had achyued the priſe ouer them⸝ they had bene ſerued of the ſame ſauce.

   1523 February 7 (Gregorian calendar), Johan Froyssart [i.e., Jean Froissart], “Howe the Frenche Men that were Passed the Ryuer of Lyse⸝ Disconfyted the Flemyngꝭ [Flemyngis] and Slewe Many of Thẽ [Them]⸝ and Wan the Passage of Comynes”, in Here Begynneth the First Volum of Sir Johan Froyssart: Of the Cronycles of Englande⸝ Fraunce⸝ Spayne⸝ Portyngale⸝ Scotlande⸝ Bretayne⸝ Flañders: And Other Places Adioynynge. […], 1st volume, London: […] Richarde Pynson⸝ […], →OCLC; reprinted as The First Volum of Sir Johan Froyssart of the Chronycles of Englande⸝ Fraunce⸝ Spayne (The English Experience […]; no. 257), Amsterdam: Theatrum Orbis Terrarum; New York, N.Y.: Da Capo Press, 1970, →ISBN, folio ccxciiii, recto, column 1

   [T]hou [Jesus] art preſented vvith that bitter, and farevvell-potion, vvherevvith dying malefactors vvere vvont to have their ſenſese ſtupified, that they might not feele the torments of their execution; […] That draught, O Saviour, vvas not more vvelcome to the guilty then hatefull unto thee; […] [N]either meantſt thou to yeild to thy laſt enemie, but to reſiſt, and to overcome him; […] and, in the meane time, vvouldſt not disfurniſh thy ſelfe of any of thy povverful faculties; This greateſt combat that ever vvas ſhall be fought on eeven hand; neither vvouldſt thou ſteale that victory vvhich thou novv atchivedſt over death, and hell; […]

   1634, Jos: Exon. [i.e., Joseph Hall], “[The Residve of the Contemplations […].] The Crucifixion.”, in The Contemplations upon the History of the New Testament, Now Complete: […], 2nd tome, London: […] M[iles] Flesher for Nath[aniel] Butter […], →OCLC, pages 267–268

   Thou haſt atchiev'd our libertie, confin'd / VVithin Hell Gates till novv, thou us impovv'rd / To fortifie thus farr, and overlay / VVithin this portentous Bridge the dark Abyſs.

   1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC, signature Ll2, verso, lines 368–371

   Book[wit]. The Name of Soldier bids you better vvelcome: 'Tis Valour and Feats done in the Field, a Man ſhou'd be cry'd up for;—not is't ſo hard to atchieve— / Lat[ine]. The Fame of it you mean— […]

   1703 December 13 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), Richard Steele, The Lying Lover: Or, The Ladies Friendship. A Comedy. […], London: […] Bernard Lintott […], published 1704, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 4

   So much has been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein,—more, far more, will I achieve: treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation.

   1831 October 31, Mary W[ollstonecraft] Shelley, chapter III, in Frankenstein: Or, The Modern Prometheus (Standard Novels; IX), 3rd edition, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 34

   Synonyms: attain, compass, get one's hands on, register

3. transitivearchaic except literaryTo obtain (a physical thing); to get.First known use 15th c.

   Show all the spoils by valiant kings achieved.

   1700, Matthew Prior, Carmen Seculare. for the Year 1700

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   Mon[tano]. But good Leiutenant, is your Generall vviu'd? / [Michael] Caſ[sio]. Moſt fortunately, he hath atchieu'd a maide, / That parragons deſcription, and vvild fame: […]

   c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragœdy of Othello, the Moore of Venice. […] (First Quarto), London: […] N[icholas] O[kes] for Thomas Walkley, […], published 1622, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 22

   [U]s hitherto this Corner and ſecret receſſe hath defended, novv the Vttermoſt point of our Land is laid open: and things the leſſe they haue beene vvithin knovvledge, the greater the glorie is to atchieue them.

   1611, Iohn Speed [i.e., John Speed], “Flavius Domitian”, in The History of Great Britaine under the Conquests of yͤ Romans, Saxons, Danes and Normans. […], London: […] William Hall and John Beale, for John Sudbury and George Humble, […], →OCLC, book VI ([The Romans] […]), paragraph 8, page 214, column 1

   […] I have bob'd your vviſe Guardian Mayor too, vvho, I hear, is crackt-brain'd yonder for loſs of his Heireſs, vvhom I have atchieved and married here in ſpite of ye by dint of Brain and Merit.

   [1703], Tho[mas] d’Urfey, The Old Mode & the New, or, Country Miss with Her Furbeloe. A Comedy. […], London: […] Bernard Lintott, and sold by Samuel Clark, […], Francis Faucet […], and Lucas Stowkey […], →OCLC, Act IV, scene ii, page 68

4. obsoletetransitiveTo end or finish (something); to terminate; (specifically, military) to win (a battle or war).First known use 14th–18th c.

   Full many Countreyes they did ouerronne, / From the vpriſing to the ſetting Sunne, / And many hard aduentures did atchieue; […]

   1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 3, pages 391–392

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   So all theſe thynges tyme acheueth and burieth, but onely trouth, the whiche (of the tyme and of all thynge that is in the tyme) triumpheth, Neyther to be fauoured of the good, nor to be perſecuted of the ylle, may be, but that ſomtyme trouthe may be ſtopped and hydde, but whan it is diſpleaſed, and wyl diſpleaſe, than at the laſte ſhe cometh to a good porte, and taketh londe.

   1531 March 20 (date written; Gregorian calendar), [Antonio de Guevara], “The Prologue”, in John Bourcher knyghte Lord Barners [i.e., John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners], transl., The Golden Boke of Marcus Aurelius Emperour and Eloquent Oratour, London: […] Thomæ Bertheleti […], published 1535, →OCLC

   Bid them atchieue me, and then ſell my bones. / Good God, vvhy ſhould they mock good fellovvs thus? / The man that once did ſell the Lions skin, / VVhile the beaſt liued, vvas kild vvith hunting him.

   1599 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The Cronicle History of Henry the Fift, […] (First Quarto), London: […] Thomas Creede, for Tho[mas] Millington, and Iohn Busby […], published 1600, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii], signature E2, verso

   I had novv atchiev'd this rare adventure, ultimately much more to my ſatisfaction than I had beſpoke the nature of it to turn out, […]

   Fanny Hill

   1749, [John Cleland], “[Letter the Second]”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], volume II, London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC, page 163

   Synonyms: complete, conclude, finalize

5. intransitiveTo attain a goal; to succeed in something, now especially in academic performance; (generally) to make an effort; strive.First known use 14th c.

   He could really achieve in school if he worked hard.

   3 more examples

   [He] Fights Dragon-like, and does atcheeue as ſoone / As dravv his Svvord: […]

   c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene vii], page 23, column 1

   VVhatever Men vvould undertake from a Paſſion to Glory, vvhatever they vvould do for the Service of their Country, this Youth has a Mind prepar'd to atchieve for the Salv[at]ion of Souls.

   1713 April 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Richard Steele], “Thursday, March 26. 1713.”, in The Guardian, number 13, London: […] J[acob] Tonson […]; and sold by A. Baldwin […], →OCLC, page [2], column 2

   Let us, then, be up and doing, / With a heart for any fate; / Still achieving, still pursuing, / Learn to labor and to wait.

   1838 October, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “A Psalm of Life. […]”, in Voices of the Night, Cambridge, Mass.: […] John Owen, published 1839, →OCLC, stanza 9, page 7

6. archaicintransitiveliteraryFollowed by to: to attain a certain position, status, etc.First known use 15th c.

   Spitz was a practised fighter. From Spitzbergen through the Arctic, and across Canada and the Barrens, he had held his own with all manner of dogs and achieved to mastery over them.

   1903 July, Jack London, “The Dominant Primordial Beast”, in The Call of the Wild, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC, pages 93–94

7. intransitiveobsoleteTo come to an end; conclude, end; also, to result, to turn out; or (uncommon) to be affected by fate in a certain way.First known use 14th–16th c.

   For god knoweth⸝ and ſo doth all other good townes⸝ that ye be ĩ [in] the ryght of this warre. Wherfore all your buſynes ſhall acheue the better.

   1523 February 7 (Gregorian calendar), Johan Froyssart [i.e., Jean Froissart], “Howe They of Jper and Courtray Turned to the Erle of Flaunders Parte⸝ and How the Towne of Gaunte was Besieged”, in Here Begynneth the First Volum of Sir Johan Froyssart: Of the Cronycles of Englande⸝ Fraunce⸝ Spayne⸝ Portyngale⸝ Scotlande⸝ Bretayne⸝ Flañders: And Other Places Adioynynge. […], 1st volume, London: […] Richarde Pynson⸝ […], →OCLC; reprinted as The First Volum of Sir Johan Froyssart of the Chronycles of Englande⸝ Fraunce⸝ Spayne (The English Experience […]; no. 257), Amsterdam: Theatrum Orbis Terrarum; New York, N.Y.: Da Capo Press, 1970, →ISBN, folio ccliii, verso, column 2

   1 more example

   The goddis unmortal haue made al thinges cõmunicable to mẽ mortal, except imortalite: ⁊ therfore they be callid ĩmortal, bicauſe they neuer dy, ⁊ we be called mortal and fallyng, bicauſe we all take an ende. […] O my frende Cincinate, thus acheueth the perſones, but the goodes neuer.

   The gods unmortal have made all things communicable to men mortal, except immortality: & therefore they be called immortal, because they never die, & we be called mortal and falling, because we all take an end. […] O my friend Cincinate, thus achieveth [endeth] the persons, but the gods never.

   1531 March 20 (date written; Gregorian calendar), [Antonio de Guevara], “A Letter Sente by Marc the Emperour to Cyncinatus His Frende, bycause He Beinge a Gentylman Became a Marchant. The .VII. Letter.”, in John Bourcher knyghte Lord Barners [i.e., John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners], transl., The Golden Boke of Marcus Aurelius Emperour and Eloquent Oratour, London: […] Thomæ Bertheleti […], published 1535, →OCLC, folios 120, recto – 120, verso