Word family noun achievement achiever underachiever ≠ overachiever underachievement ≠ overachievement adjective achievable verb achieve underachieve ≠ overachieve
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishachievea‧chieve /əˈtʃiːv/ ●●● S2 W1 AWL verb 1 [transitive]DO to successfully complete something or get a good result, especially by working hard She eventually achieved her goal of becoming a professor. Wilson has achieved considerable success as an artist. Frances achieved very good exam results.► see thesaurus at succeedRegisterIn everyday English, people usually say someone gets a result rather than achieves it:He got good grades in his final exams.2 [intransitive]SUCCESSFUL to be successful in a particular kind of job or activity We want all our students to achieve within their chosen profession. —achievable adjective→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
achieve• In a world of shifting boundaries, vanishing borders, and proliferating frontiers, security is even more difficult to achieve.• My parents constantly encouraged me to achieve.• He may achieve a little more animation this time if Party Politics wins him his place in history.• She's achieved a lot in the short time she's been with the company.• He had achieved all his goals for the organization, and felt there were no challenges left there for him.• Until that happy day, the only way to achieve an enjoyable and comfortable life is to work for it.• Perhaps multiculturalism, in its achieved form, was a polyphony of just such well-trained voices.• Women have yet to achieve full equality in the workplace.• The reason I achieve good results is because I work hard -- and so could you.• This will enable businesses to sell more widely, achieving greater economies of scale.• If the AlomarHirschbeck rapprochement were to be achieved, it would only be the latest in a growing apology fad.• The software division expects to achieve its sales targets this year.• When you get your MA, you really feel that you've achieved something.• On the test drive, Segrave achieved speeds of over 200 mph.• Young men's friendships rarely achieve the depth of intimacy of young women's.• Control may also be achieved through resource management, such as social insurance schemes or payment of retainers or fees for service.Origin achieve (1300-1400) Old French achever, from chief “end, head” 