From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishfinishfin‧ish1 /ˈfɪnɪʃ/ ●●● S1 W2 verb 1 stop doing something (also finish off) [intransitive, transitive]FINISH DOING something to complete the last part of something that you are doing You can’t go anywhere until you’ve finished your homework. Have you finished that book yet?finish doing something I finished typing the report just minutes before it was due. ‘How’s the decorating going?’ ‘We’ve nearly finished.’2 end [intransitive] especially British EnglishFINISH/COME TO AN END when an event, activity, or period of time finishes, it ends, especially at a particular time The football season finishes in May. What time does school finish?3 eat/drink (also finish up/off) [transitive]EATFINISH/USE ALL OF something to eat or drink all the rest of something, so there is none left I’ll just finish my coffee.4 end something by doing something (also finish off) [intransitive, transitive]FINISH/COME TO AN END to complete an event, performance, piece of work etc by doing one final thingfinish with The party finished with a sing-song.finish (something) by doing something I would like to finish by thanking you all for your help.5 race [intransitive, transitive]FINISH DOING something to be in a particular position at the end of a race, competition etcfinish first/second/third etc He finished second in the 100 metres, behind Ben Johnson. 6 take away somebody’s strength (also finish off) [transitive]TIRED to take away all of someone’s strength, energy etc SYN do somebody in Another run like that would just about finish me.7 use all of something [intransitive, transitive] British EnglishFINISH/USE ALL OF something to completely use up the supply of something, especially food The ice cream’s finished – can you get some more?8 → put/add the finishing touches (to something)9 surface [transitive]CSFLAT to give the surface of something, especially wood, a smooth appearance by painting, polishing, or covering it The furniture had been attractively finished in a walnut veneer.GRAMMAR: Patterns with finish• Finish is followed by an -ing form, not an infinitive. You say: He finished cleaning the kitchen. ✗Don’t say: He finished to clean the kitchen.• Finish belongs to a group of verbs where the same noun can be the subject of the verb or its object. • You can say: He finished his speech with a joke. In this sentence, ‘his speech’ is the object of finish.• You can say: His speech finished with a joke. In this sentence, ‘his speech’ is the subject of finish.THESAURUSfinish to complete the last part of something that you are doingHave you finished your homework?The builders say they should have finished by Friday.complete to finish making or doing something that has taken a long time to finishThe new bridge will be completed in two years’ time.She has just completed her PhD.finalize to do the last things that are necessary in order to settle a plan or agreement in a satisfactory wayA spokesman said that they were hoping to finalize an agreement in the near future.conclude formal to officially finish somethingThe police have now concluded their investigations.Ralph Ellis, Managing Director, concluded the conference with a review of the trading year. wrap something up informal to finish something successfully – used especially about agreements or sports competitionsNegotiators are meeting on Friday to wrap up the deal. Liverpool had several chances to wrap up the game.round something off British English, round something out American English to do something as a way of ending a day, an evening, an event etc in an enjoyable or suitable wayThey rounded off the day with a barbecue at the beach.A concert in the park is being organized to round off the programme of events.get it over with/get it over and done with to do something that you have to do now, so that it is finished and you can stop worrying about itLet’s go and do the shopping now and get it over with.Just tell him how you feel and get it over and done with.be done/be through informal if you are done, you have finished – used especially when other people are waiting for youWe’re nearly done.We should be through in half an hour.be through with something/be done with something informal to have finished using something – used especially when other people are waiting to use itI’m done with the file.I’ll let you know when I’m through with it.tie up the loose ends to finish dealing with the final details of something, so that is all finished‘Is the talk ready?’ ‘I just need to tie up a few loose ends.’ → finish off → finish up → finish with something/somebody→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
finish• Just leave it on the table when you finish.• They worked until they were finished.• Are you finished?• He was in London at the time, finishing a degree in economics.• The kids have finished all the ice-cream.• The builders say they should have finished by Friday.• Marv moved to New York when he finished college.• Angrily, she finished her beer and threw the can away.• As he'd nearly finished his apprenticeship, he was understandably loathe to pack it in.• "To think you might have been..." Carlos didn't finish his sentence.• When I had finished, I was made to wait two hours before being called back into the office for questioning.• Wait till I've finished my drink and then we'll go.• I finished my lunch, repacked my back pack, and set off again.• After you've finished painting the house you can start on the garage.• Have you finished reading the papers?• Hurry up and finish so we can make the 7 o'clock show.• She spoke for ten minutes, and when she had finished the audience cheered.• In 1953, the Army Corps of Engineers finished the job by building a flood control channel.• We should have finished the job by next week.• Wolsey finished the plate of sweetmeats and told us to sit.• He finished the regular season with a. 324 average, 21 home runs and 83 RBIs.• And they push and prod them to do everything from filling out college applications to finishing their science projects.• The board hopes to finish this step by June 30.• Give me a call when you've finished unpacking.• Let me finish washing the dishes, then I can help you.• Come on, finish your dinner.• Have you finished your homework yet?finish doing something• Let's go play after you finish eating.finish with• We finished dinner with a salad of fresh fruit.• The concert finished with a sing-along version of "You're a Grand Old Flag."• "Have you finished with the Monopoly game?'' "Yes." "Well put it away then.''• Can you pass me the scissors when you've finished with them, please?finish first/second/third etc• Time after time he has shown that nice guys can finish first.• Dayla finished third, a half-length behind Princess Kali and a nose in front of stablemate Young and Daring.• Len Vickery finished third after carding a score of 68a round which helped him secure the past captain's cup.• Yorkshire defeated Sussex to finish third, but both teams were demoted.• Catherine Allsopp ran an intelligently-paced race in the 800 metres, finishing third in 2 mins 11.36 secs.• He finished second to Strike the Gold in the 1991 Kentucky Derby in a frustrating trip from post 15.• Lewis, who had finished second, was awarded the gold medal.finishfinish2 ●●○ S3 noun 1 [countable]END the end or last part of something I was watching the race but I didn’t get to see the finish. The day was a disaster from start to finish (=from the beginning until the end). I won’t walk out – I like to see things through to the finish.a close finish (=an end of a race where two competitors are very close to each other)2 → a fight to the finish3 [countable, uncountable]CSFLAT the appearance of the surface of an object after it has been painted, polished etc That table has a beautiful finish.Examples from the Corpus
finish• However we all liked the matt black finish of the bottle.• The paint should dry to a smooth, glossy finish.• Mr. Hamilton I find that, from start to finish, a most incredible contribution.• His is a veritable Horatio Alger story with a tragic finish.• And the handsome brown Apex for the warm tones of wood finish units.a close finish• Finally he let go, falling against the bedhead, elbows on knees, panting like a runner after a close finish.From Longman Business Dictionaryfinishfin‧ish /ˈfɪnɪʃ/ verb [intransitive, transitive]FINANCE if shares etc finish at a certain level or price on a financial market, they are at that level or price when trading ends for the dayShares finished marginally weaker, with the All Ordinaries index down 3.1 points at 1,772.5.The FTSE 100 index finished 16.4 points lower at 2,342.1.→ See Verb tableOrigin finish1 (1300-1400) French finir, from Latin finire, from finis “end” 