finish

verb

fin·ish | \ ˈfi-nish

finished; finishing; finishes

Definition of finish

(Entry 1 of 2)

intransitive verb

1a : to come to an end : terminate The meeting finished at noon.

b : end sense 1b

2a : 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

1a : to bring to an end : terminate finished the speech and sat down

b : 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 winter

b : 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 career

b : to bring about the death of —usually used with off The gladiator finished off his opponent.

finish

noun

Definition of finish (Entry 2 of 2)

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)

2a : 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

Other Words from finish Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about finish

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Choose the Right Synonym for finish

Verb

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

Examples of finish in a Sentence

Verb

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.

Noun

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 on the Web: Verb

The idea is to finish with four clubs, the cream of the continent, duking it out for European supremacy in a pair of glittering finals. — Joshua Robinson, WSJ, "Europe Now Belongs to the Premier League," 10 May 2019 To finish, garnish with lots of mint and thyme; dust with Chartreuse powder. — Andrew Daniels, Popular Mechanics, "This Mad Science Experiment Is the Key to the Perfect Mint Julep," 3 May 2019 Do the entire circuit 2-5 times, then try the AMRAP to finish. — SELF, "Final Strength Push, Plus 4-Minute Finisher," 28 Apr. 2019 For furniture with drawers or hardware, paint the top and sides first, then remove the accessories to finish separately. — Blair Donovan, Country Living, "How to Whitewash Wood Furniture: 8 Easy Steps for Your Next Furniture Makeover," 19 Apr. 2019 Other airlines are likely to follow Southwest’s example, putting pressure on Boeing to finish fixing software on an anti-stall system implicated in two deadly crashes. — David Koenig, The Seattle Times, "Southwest doesn’t plan to use Boeing Max jets until August," 14 Apr. 2019 To finish off the interview, the hosts asked Tindall about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's soon-to-arrive baby. — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, "Mike Tindall Opens Up About His Father's Battle with Parkinson's Disease," 11 Apr. 2019 From wooden platforms 860 feet in the air, the crew was going to raise and rivet a steel needle weighing 54,000 pounds—the finishing touch of a tower called the Chrysler Building. — Jonathan Schifman, Popular Mechanics, "A Friendship Turned to Rivalry. A Feud That Changed the New York Skyline.," 27 Mar. 2019 If successful, SpaceX will finish 2018 with 21 launches and beat out its own record of 18 missions last year. — Loren Grush, The Verge, "Watch SpaceX launch its final Falcon 9 rocket of the year for the Air Force," 21 Dec. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

All of them are stocked with L/Uniform’s wide range of totes, handbags, luggage, and small leather goods, which are handmade from start to finish in the brand’s workshops in Carcassonne, France, and Portugal. — Emily Farra, Vogue, "French Label L/Uniform Is Bringing Its Cheery, Monogrammable Bags to New York," 10 May 2019 The Fox takeover helps Disney tighten its control over TV shows and movies from start to finish — from creating the programs to distributing them though television channels, movie theaters, streaming services and other avenues. — Michael Liedtke, The Seattle Times, "Disney unveils new streaming service to debut late this year," 14 Apr. 2019 The result was a second-place finish for the Greens. — Jen Kirby, Vox, "German leader Angela Merkel was just dealt a major political blow," 15 Oct. 2018 For the weekend, The First Purge is looking at a fourth-place finish behind Ant-Man 2, fellow Universal title Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Disney/Pixar's Incredibles 2. — Pamela Mcclintock, Billboard, "Box Office: 'Ant-Man and the Wasp' Soaring to $80M-Plus U.S. Debut," 7 July 2018 Harvick fell off the pace in the third stage, however, before rallying to a third-place finish ahead of Martin Truex Jr., and Clint Bowyer. — Tony Baranek, Daily Southtown, "Contact sport: Kyle Busch survives bumping battle with Kyle Larson to end Chicagoland drought," 1 July 2018 Garwo also led the Eagles last season to a semifinal finish in the PIAA Class 3A playoffs, the farthest the school had ever advanced. — Philly.com Staff, Philly.com, "Conwell-Egan's Patrick Garwo commits to Boston College," 27 June 2018 The entire ceremony, from start to finish, usually requires one weekend, one outfit, and two takeout deliveries. — Rachel Syme, The New Republic, "How The Staircase Defined True Crime Series," 11 June 2018 Ashley Henderson’s illustrious track career at San Diego State ended on a wet, blustery day with a sixth-place finish in the 200 meters at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore. — Mark Zeigler, sandiegouniontribune.com, "SDSU's Ashley Henderson finishes 6th in NCAA 200," 9 June 2018

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.

History and Etymology for finish

Verb

Middle English finisshen, borrowed from Anglo-French finiss-, stem of finir, going back to Latlin fīnīre "to mark out the boundaries, limit, put an end to, bring to a close," derivative of fīnis "boundary, limit, ending" — more at final entry 1

Noun

derivative of finish entry 1

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