finish

play

verb fin·ish \ˈfi-nish\

Definition of finish

intransitive verb
1a : to come to an end : terminate The meeting finished at noon.b : end 1b
2a : to come to the end of a course, task, or undertaking I shall finish with a Chopin nocturne — Lillian Hellmanb : to end relations —used with with decided to finish with him for good
3 : to end a competition in a specified manner or position finished third in the race
transitive verb
1a : to bring to an end : terminate finished the speech and sat downb : to use or dispose of entirely her sandwich finished the loaf
2a : to bring to completion or issue hope to finish their new home before winterb : to provide with a finish; especially : to put a final coat or surface on finish a table with varnish
3a : to defeat or ruin utterly and finally the scandal finished his careerb : to bring about the death of —usually used with off The gladiator finished off his opponent.

finisher

noun

See finish defined for English-language learners

See finish defined for kids

Examples of finish in a Sentence

You can't watch TV until you finish your homework.
He started his homework two hours ago and he still hasn't finished.
They hope to finish their new home by winter.
They're building a new home and they hope to finish by winter.
The chairman finished the meeting at noon.
The meeting finished on a positive note.

Recent Examples of finish from the Web

Hastert's attorneys also declined to answer questions about how the former speaker is finishing his sentence.

— jason meisner, chicagotribune.com, "Mugshot of haggard-looking Dennis Hastert released," 19 July 2017
Elizabethtown will be represented by Erin Boley, who led the Lady Panthers to a state title in 2015 and by Ray Vencill, who guided both Richmond Madison and E’town High to state runner-up finishes in boys competition.

— bob white, The Courier-Journal, "Louisville-area stars to be inducted into Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame," 19 July 2017
After finishing Zelda, some of the newer games have been less interesting.

— brian x. chen, New York Times, "Going Low-Tech to Solve Everyday High-Tech Problems," 19 July 2017
The BayBears didn't have a great first half of the season, finishing fourth in their division at 30-39.

— lawrence specker, AL.com, "BayBears to Huntsville? There may be a pitch, but there are a few innings left to play," 19 July 2017
Shawnee Mission East graduate Chase Hanna finished atop the leader board after two rounds of stroke play at the 107th Kansas Amateur.

— kansascity, "Chase Hanna leads way in Kansas Amateur stroke play," 19 July 2017
The red onions add texture, bite and heat, and the bleu cheese topper finishes the stack with moisture and richness.

— cooking with caitlin, Cincinnati.com, "Cooking with Caitlin: The spicy, saucy burger you've been waiting for," 19 July 2017
But the money could be used to finish capital projects that are waiting for funding.

— katherine peralta and steve harrison, charlotteobserver, "Understanding the proposal to bring Major League Soccer to Charlotte," 19 July 2017
The bearded, portly Johnston entertained the crowd at last year's Open, nearly upstaging a tremendous duel between Phil Mickelson and eventual winner Henrik Stenson in the final round before finishing eighth.

— Bloomberg.com, "Beef And Brains Are on the Menu At the British Open," 18 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'finish.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of finish

Middle English finisshen, from Anglo-French finiss-, stem of finir, from Latin finire, from finis —see ¹fine

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

Synonym Discussion of finish

close, end, conclude, finish, complete, terminate mean to bring or come to a stopping point or limit. close usually implies that something has been in some way open as well as unfinished. close a debate end conveys a strong sense of finality. ended his life conclude may imply a formal closing (as of a meeting). the service concluded with a blessing finish may stress completion of a final step in a process. after it is painted, the house will be finished complete implies the removal of all deficiencies or a successful finishing of what has been undertaken. the resolving of this last issue completes the agreement terminate implies the setting of a limit in time or space. your employment terminates after three months

finish

noun fin·ish

Definition of finish

1 : something that completes or perfects: such asa : the fine or decorative work required for a building or one of its partsb : a finishing material used in paintingc : the final treatment or coating of a surfaced : the taste in the mouth after swallowing a beverage (such as wine)
2a : final stage : endb : the cause of one's ruin
3 : the result or product of a finishing process a glossy finish
4 : the quality or state of being perfected

See finish defined for English-language learners

Examples of finish in a Sentence

a suspense film with a perfect surprise finish
The table had a shiny finish.
I need to put one more coat of finish on the chair.

Recent Examples of finish from the Web

A rotary tool phase renders the finish even smoother.

— rene chun, WIRED, "Review: Master & Dynamic MA770," 12 July 2017
Inside the nearly 2,500-square-foot unit, dark Brazilian hardwoods contrast nicely against crisp white walls and silver finishes.

— satinder haer, ELLE Decor, "Alyson Hannigan From "How I Met Your Mother" Is Selling Her Atlanta Penthouse For $1.395M," 7 July 2017
The owner of the first duck to cross the finish line will win $500 and need not be present.

— elizabeth marie himchak, Rancho Bernardo, "Rancho Bernardo to offer full-day of Independence Day fun," 28 June 2017
The décor is designed to be homey, with color and natural finishes, and families are encouraged to add personal touches.

— barbara sadick, WSJ, "The Neonatal ICU Gets a Makeover," 25 June 2017
Find free parking at the fort or at the finish line locale.

— susan friedman, Orlando Signature, "July Around the State," 23 June 2017
Backed by Alibaba, Baozun takes care of the process for companies from start to finish, including website design, customer service, technology infrastructure, warehousing and delivery, and marketing.

— selina wang, Bloomberg.com, "Jack Ma Woos Mom and Pop Shops in U.S. Jobs Push," 19 June 2017
Runner Wesley Reutimann won the 5K race with a time of 16 minutes, 43 seconds, while Rich Mayne led runners in the 10K race with a finish time of 37 minutes, 21 seconds, according to results posted online.

— sara cardine, La Cañada Valley Sun, "Runners rocket around Hahamongna in ‘Space Race’ fundraiser," 14 June 2017
On the GOP side, enthusiasm for the president lifted outspoken Trump supporter Corey Stewart to an unexpectedly strong finish in his race against the GOP establishment’s favored candidate, Ed Gillespie.

— robert mccartney, Washington Post, "“Trump Effect” is seismic for both Democrats, GOP in Virginia primary," 13 June 2017

Origin and Etymology of finish

see ¹finish

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1779

See Words from the same year

Other Alcoholic Beverage Terms

gimlet, mull, sake, setup, sommelier, syllabub, vintner, wassail

FINISH Defined for English Language Learners

finish

play

verb

Definition of finish for English Language Learners

: to reach the end of (something) : to stop doing (something) because it is completed
: to be done with building or creating (something)
: to cause something to end or stop : to reach the end of something

finish

noun

Definition of finish for English Language Learners

: the last part of something
: the final coating on a surface or the appearance produced by such a coating

FINISH Defined for Kids

finish

play

verb fin·ish \ˈfi-nish\

Definition of finish for Students

finished

;

finishing

1 : to bring or come to an end : complete
2 : to use up completely I finished the pie.
3 : to end a competition in a certain position I finished third in the race.
4 : to put a final coat or surface on He finished the wood table with varnish.

Word Root of finish

The Latin word finis, meaning “end” or “boundary,” gives us the root fin. Words from the Latin finis have something to do with ends or limits. Something final, such as the last chapter in a book, is the ending one. To confine is to put limits or boundaries around something. To finish something is to come to its end. Something finite has limits and happens only for a certain amount of time or in a certain space before it ends.

finish

play

noun fin·ish

Definition of finish for Students

1 : ¹end 2, conclusion The race had a close finish.
2 : the final treatment or coating of a surface or the appearance given by such a treatment The table has a shiny finish.