finish

verb fin·ish \ ˈfi-nish \

Definition of finish

intransitive verb

1 a :to come to an end :terminate

The meeting finished at noon.

b :end 1b

2 a :to come to the end of a course, task, or undertaking

I shall finish with a Chopin nocturne
—Lillian Hellman

b :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

1 a :to bring to an end :terminate

finished the speech and sat down

b :to use or dispose of entirely

her sandwich finished the loaf

2 a :to bring to completion or issue

hope to finish their new home before winter

b :to provide with a finish; especially :to put a final coat or surface on

finish a table with varnish

3 a :to defeat or ruin utterly and finally

the scandal finished his career

b :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

The Gators finished under .500 but were the only team to defeat Mt. Hebron during the regular season in 2016.

— brent kennedy, Howard County Times, "Howard County boys soccer teams aiming to unseat Mt. Hebron," 27 Aug. 2017
Eddie Curry finished with 37 yards rushing on eight carries.

— mike hutton, Post-Tribune, "Jesse Harper leads way as Valparaiso gets validation with win over Mishawaka," 26 Aug. 2017
The two represent a significant influx of talent to a team that finished 4-5 last season — which included a 35-6 loss to Glenbard North — and tied for fifth in the conference.

— rich mayor, Naperville Sun, "A rose in Payton Thorne: Naperville Central eases past Glenbard North," 26 Aug. 2017
Outside of key turnovers, the difference was La Salle finished its best drive with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Griffin Merritt to Josh Whyle, while Colerain converted a 30-yard field goal from Chris Mangold.

— adam baum, Cincinnati.com, "5 takeaways from Ohio's opening week of high school football," 26 Aug. 2017
The Yard Goats finish the season with four games in Binghamton.

— hartford courant, courant.com, "Yard Goats' Final Games," 26 Aug. 2017
Both teens recently finished up at Oak Forest High School.

— donna vickroy, Daily Southtown, "When autism, diabetes make a friendship stronger," 25 Aug. 2017
The year before, Scozzari had finished treatment for stage 4 breast cancer.

— natalie jacewicz, Kaiser Health News, "Writing Your Way Through Cancer," 25 Aug. 2017
Jaguar’s XJ220 had finished production in 1994, the year before the F50 bowed, and besides, Coventry’s high-speed entry in the supercar sweepstakes offered only a lowly V-6.

— davey g. johnson, Car and Driver, "At Dark among the Prancing Horses: We Wander a Field of 70 Historic Ferraris," 25 Aug. 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

finish Synonyms

Synonyms

complete, consummate, finalize, perfect, polish, get through

Antonyms

begin, commence, inaugurate, open, start

Related Words

follow through (with), stick out; accomplish, achieve, effect; carry out, carry through, discharge, do, execute, fulfill (or fulfil), perform; ameliorate, amend, better, enhance, enrich, improve, meliorate; machine, refine, round (off or out), shine, touch up

Near Antonyms

abandon, desert, discontinue, drop, forsake, quit

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

Definition of finish

1 :something that completes or perfects: such as

a :the fine or decorative work required for a building or one of its parts

b :a finishing material used in painting

c :the final treatment or coating of a surface

d :the taste in the mouth after swallowing a beverage (such as wine)

2 a :final stage :end

b :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

The Cavs' other options: try to convince the Celtics to give them some additional sweeteners to push the deal over the finish line, or let the whole thing fall apart.

— tim bontemps, chicagotribune.com, "Neither the Cavs nor Celtics can afford to let the Kyrie Irving trade fall through," 30 Aug. 2017
Flacco was back last season, but the Ravens struggled to an 8-8 finish, missing the playoffs for the third time in four years.

— joe kay, The Seattle Times, "NFL 2017: AFC North revolves largely around QB longevity," 29 Aug. 2017
Sandburg came into Tuesday's match off of a third-place finish at the Plainfield North Crosstown Showdown.

— tony baranek, Daily Southtown, "Nancy Kane more than able on block as Mother McAuley shuts down Sandburg," 29 Aug. 2017
Finding the finish spot on the other side is her choice.

— kevin lonnquist, star-telegram, "How the Southlake Carroll volleyball team relies on its youngest player," 28 Aug. 2017
FILE - This May 2, 2015 file photo shows Manny Pacquiao from the Philippines, left, and Floyd Mayweather Jr., embracing in the ring at the finish of their welterweight title fight in Las Vegas.

— Washington Post, "Judge KO’s class-action case from Mayweather-Pacquiao fight," 25 Aug. 2017
The Boys 16-and-Under Basketball Team won silver medals for a second-place finish and the Girls Volleyball Team also won silver medals.

— randall p. lieberman, Jewish Journal, "Levis JCC Maccabi team small but potent," 17 Aug. 2017
Trump’s popularity likely helped drag Strange across the finish line in second place.

— molly ball, The Atlantic, "The Alabama Senate Race Gets Moore Strange," 16 Aug. 2017
Sounds...easier than trying to maintain arm-dryer coordination for an all-one-texture finish, actually.

— chelsea peng, Marie Claire, "5 Secrets Behind Jennifer Aniston's Ever-Covetable Hair," 16 Aug. 2017

Origin and Etymology of finish

see ¹finish

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1779

See Words from the same year

finish Synonyms

Synonyms

capper, close, closing, conclusion, consummation, end, endgame, ending, finis, finale, grand finale, home stretch, mop-up, windup, wrap-up

Antonyms

baseline, beginning, dawn, day one, nascence, nascency, opening, start

Related Words

acme, apex, capstone, climax, copestone, coup de grâce (or coup de grace), crescendo, crown, culmination, high-water mark, meridian, peak, pinnacle, summit, tip-top, top, zenith; aftermath, anticlimax, coda, epilogue (also epilog), postscript; shank, tag end, tail end

Near Antonyms

foreword, introduction, overture, preamble, preface, prelude, prologue (also prolog)

Other Alcoholic Beverage Terms

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

FINISH Defined for English Language Learners

finish

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

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

noun

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.

Learn More about finish

See words that rhyme with finish Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for finish Spanish Central: Translation of finish Nglish: Translation of finish for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of finish for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about finish

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finish

Definition of finish

finisher

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finish

Definition of finish

Examples of finish in a Sentence

Recent Examples of finish from the Web

Origin and Etymology of finish

finish Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

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FINISH Defined for English Language Learners

finish

Definition of finish for English Language Learners

finish

Definition of finish for English Language Learners

FINISH Defined for Kids

finish

Definition of finish for Students

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finish

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