1
as in completes
to bring (something) to a state where nothing remains to be done
we should finish the painting of the house by tomorrow
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ends
to bring (an event) to a natural or appropriate stopping point
we'll finish the concert before dark
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in stops
to come to an end
the three-day race finished yesterday
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in endings
the last part of a process or action
a pie-eating contest is the fair's traditional finish
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in halts
the stopping of a process or activity
an all-out fight right to the finish
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of finishes
Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 6 June 2026
The tour kicked off on April 22 in San Diego and finishes on July 30 in Warsaw, Poland.
—Jack Dunn, Variety, 6 June 2026
Toisanese sweet and sour sauce finishes the dish.
—Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2026
The all-metal chassis looks just as slick as other Surface laptops, right down to the polished Windows logo on the lid, coming in Platinum and Nightfall finishes.
—John Burek, PC Magazine, 3 June 2026
Those long showers can take a toll on your paint, wood, and finishes.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 3 June 2026
Odd finishes Two baseball games ended with double plays.
—John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 June 2026
To be sure, barring an Eric Swalwell-style implosion by Becerra or Steyer, depending on who finishes in the top two, the next governor of California will almost certainly be a Democrat.
—Daniel Borenstein, Mercury News, 29 May 2026
The second-team All-SEC selection has terrific get-off and speed and finishes well.
—Sam Khan Jr, New York Times, 27 May 2026
Jenny Berg, Glamour, 29 May 2026
Just non-stop dribbles, counter-attacks, through balls, amazing finishes… all of football’s good bits.
—Jack Lang, New York Times, 28 May 2026
The stealth and brushed silver finishes cost $499 (£499), which is $100 or £100 more than Ring 4.
—David Phelan, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
The ring, which will start to ship on June 4, will be priced at $399 for base finishes and $499 for premium finishes like gold and brushed silver.
—Ian Thomas, CNBC, 28 May 2026
The latest version is more expensive, coming in at $399 — up from $349 for the Oura Ring 4 — for standard silver and black metal finishes, while higher-end gold, stealth, rose gold and brushed silver versions cost an additional $100.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 28 May 2026
The wrench is available in Sandblasted Titanium and Black PVD finishes.
—Maryna Holovnova, New Atlas, 28 May 2026
The rooms Each of the 56 rooms is unique, blending the building’s industrial past with modern finishes and bright colors.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 May 2026
For spring 2026, pastel nail colors have gotten a modern update with chrome, cat-eye, and translucent milky finishes.
—Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 22 May 2026
Verb
Saturday's Belmont Stakes marked the third consecutive, and final, year in which the race took place at Saratoga Race Course in Upstate New York, as Belmont Park finishes up renovations.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 6 June 2026
The tour kicked off on April 22 in San Diego and finishes on July 30 in Warsaw, Poland.
—Jack Dunn, Variety, 6 June 2026
Toisanese sweet and sour sauce finishes the dish.
—Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2026
The all-metal chassis looks just as slick as other Surface laptops, right down to the polished Windows logo on the lid, coming in Platinum and Nightfall finishes.
—John Burek, PC Magazine, 3 June 2026
Those long showers can take a toll on your paint, wood, and finishes.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 3 June 2026
Odd finishes Two baseball games ended with double plays.
—John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 June 2026
To be sure, barring an Eric Swalwell-style implosion by Becerra or Steyer, depending on who finishes in the top two, the next governor of California will almost certainly be a Democrat.
—Daniel Borenstein, Mercury News, 29 May 2026
The second-team All-SEC selection has terrific get-off and speed and finishes well.
—Sam Khan Jr, New York Times, 27 May 2026
Noun
Trust us, the drugstore aisles are rife with formulas boasting elegant finishes and suitable for sensitive or acne-prone skin—all at a great value.
—Jenny Berg, Glamour, 29 May 2026
Just non-stop dribbles, counter-attacks, through balls, amazing finishes… all of football’s good bits.
—Jack Lang, New York Times, 28 May 2026
The stealth and brushed silver finishes cost $499 (£499), which is $100 or £100 more than Ring 4.
—David Phelan, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
The ring, which will start to ship on June 4, will be priced at $399 for base finishes and $499 for premium finishes like gold and brushed silver.
—Ian Thomas, CNBC, 28 May 2026
The latest version is more expensive, coming in at $399 — up from $349 for the Oura Ring 4 — for standard silver and black metal finishes, while higher-end gold, stealth, rose gold and brushed silver versions cost an additional $100.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 28 May 2026
The wrench is available in Sandblasted Titanium and Black PVD finishes.
—Maryna Holovnova, New Atlas, 28 May 2026
The rooms Each of the 56 rooms is unique, blending the building’s industrial past with modern finishes and bright colors.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 May 2026
For spring 2026, pastel nail colors have gotten a modern update with chrome, cat-eye, and translucent milky finishes.
—Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 22 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for finishes
Verb
-
The moon completes the show The moon, our nearest neighbor in space, will join the planetary/stellar parade during the third week of June.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
5 June 2026
-
Haiti’s centre-forward, Nazon, is the team’s all-time top scorer with 44 goals at the time of writing, Pierrot isn’t far behind him with 34, and Sunderland’s Isidor — who committed to representing Haiti this March — completes the set.—
Ahmed Walid,
New York Times,
5 June 2026
Verb
-
Voting for the mall ends June 1.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
29 May 2026
-
Fans who fear Major League Baseball is headed toward a work stoppage because the collective-bargaining agreement ends later this year could not have liked the events of the past week.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Your success stops feeling hollow.—
Chris Schembra,
Rolling Stone,
8 June 2026
-
There is no single treatment that stops the allergic march in its tracks, but there are ways to slow its progress.—
Dr. Daniel DiGiacomo,
Boston Herald,
7 June 2026
Noun
-
Parents are choosing names with softer sounds and vowel endings such as Alonso, Ilyas, Amos, and Lennon for boys, and Rhea, Rosalina, Aura, Ines, and Zeina for girls.—
Saman Shafiq,
USA Today,
9 June 2026
-
The end of Dexter is so widely hated that it’s considered by many to be among the worst TV show endings ever.—
Brianna Zigler,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 June 2026
Noun
-
In practice the printer ran for about 3 months (including setup and halts), whereas a traditional cast bridge might have taken 3–4 times longer.—
Srishti Gupta,
Interesting Engineering,
16 May 2026
-
Former leaders warn that the loss of institutional knowledge, combined with halts to the incoming pipeline of public health workers, may lead to a long-term crisis.—
Pien Huang,
NPR,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
But the spending wasn't enough to help Steyer break through the top two, McCuan concludes.—
Terry Collins,
USA Today,
10 June 2026
-
The 2026 Tribeca Film Festival kicked off on June 3 and concludes on June 14.—
Julia Teti,
Footwear News,
9 June 2026
Verb
-
State law requires a special election the following November to elect a successor to complete the rest of Klobuchar’s current six-year term, which expires in 2030.—
Alex Derosier,
Twin Cities,
30 May 2026
-
With club captain Dani Carvajal leaving as his contract expires, Madrid will lose their captain for the sixth season in a row — following the exits of Ramos (2021), Marcelo (2022), Karim Benzema (2023) Nacho (2024, when Toni Kroos left, too) and Luka Modric (2025, when Lucas Vazquez also departed).—
Guillermo Rai,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
People can draw their own conclusions, though.—
Zac Anderson,
USA Today,
7 June 2026
-
Lee also warned about drawing strong conclusions from early returns, estimating that only about 40% of ballots cast had been counted through Wednesday.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Finishes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/finishes. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
