a ‧ chieve S2 W1 AC /əˈtʃiːv/ BrE AmE verb
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ achievement , ↑ achiever , ↑ underachiever ≠ OVERACHIEVER , ↑ underachievement ≠ OVERACHIEVEMENT ; verb : ↑ achieve , ↑ underachieve ≠ OVERACHIEVE ; adjective : ↑ achievable ]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: achever , from chief 'end, head' ]
1 . [transitive] to successfully complete something or get a good result, especially by working hard:
Frances achieved very good exam results.
Wilson has achieved considerable success as an artist.
She eventually achieved her goal of becoming a professor.
REGISTER
In everyday English, people usually say someone gets a result rather than achieves it:
▪
He got good grades in his final exams.
2 . [intransitive] to be successful in a particular kind of job or activity:
We want all our students to achieve within their chosen profession.
—achievable adjective
• • •
THESAURUS
■ succeed in doing something
▪ succeed verb [intransitive] to do something you tried or wanted to do:
Will they succeed in winning the election?
|
He wanted to make her jealous, and he succeeded.
▪ manage verb [intransitive] to succeed in doing something difficult, after trying hard. Manage to do something is very commonly used instead of succeed in doing something in everyday English:
He finally managed to find an apartment near his office.
|
Don’t worry – I’m sure we’ll manage somehow.
▪ achieve verb [transitive] to succeed in doing something good or important:
She’s achieved a lot in the short time she’s been with the company.
|
If we are to achieve our goals, we have to plan properly.
▪ accomplish verb [transitive] formal to achieve something:
The government accomplished its objective of reducing violent crime.
|
What do you hope to accomplish this year?
▪ make it to be successful in your career, or to succeed in reaching a place or part of a competition:
Only a few people make it to the top and become professional singers.
|
We finally made it to Chicago.
|
Which two teams will make it to the final?
▪ pull off phrasal verb to succeed in doing something, especially when you could easily have not succeeded. Pull off sounds rather informal:
Italy pulled off a great victory over Germany.
|
I’d never performed on my own before, and wasn’t sure if I could pull it off.