finish

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English

Etymology

From Middle English finishen, finisshen, finischen, from Old French finiss-, stem of some of the conjugated forms of finir, from Latin fīnīre, present active infinitive of fīniō, from fīnis (“end, limit, border, boundary”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- (“to stick, set up”) or from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“to split”).

Pronunciation

Noun

finish (plural finishes)

  1. An end; the end of anything.
    • 1990 August 18, Karin Aguilar-San Juan, “The Boston Lesbian and Gay Film Festival Continues”, in Gay Community News, volume 18, number 6, page 9:
      Noel meets a cruel finish: "Kid," the government lackey who "protects" the clubs in the tourist belt, shoots Noel dead in an alley for stealing Pining out of the brothel.
  2. A protective coating given to wood or metal and other surfaces.
    The car's finish was so shiny and new.
  3. The result of any process changing the physical or chemical properties of cloth.
  4. A finishing touch; careful elaboration; polish.
  5. (sports) A shot on goal, especially one that ends in a goal.
    • 2011 September 2, Phil McNulty, “Bulgaria 0-3 England”, in BBC‎:
      The Italian opted for Bolton's Cahill alongside captain John Terry - and his decision was rewarded with a goal after only 13 minutes. Bulgaria gave a hint of defensive frailties to come when they failed to clear Young's corner, and when Gareth Barry found Cahill in the box he applied the finish past Nikolay Mihaylov.
    • 2023 August 12, Suzanne Wrack, “England hit back to beat Colombia and set up World Cup semi with Australia”, in The Guardian‎:
      However, Colombia broke the deadlock, Leicy Santos toying with Rachel Daly after collecting Caicedo’s pass, before sweeping a dipping effort over a caught-out Mary Earps. It was a luscious finish and the crowd enjoyed it.

Derived terms

Translations

finish line — see finish line

Verb

finish (third-person singular simple present finishes, present participle finishing, simple past and past participle finished)

  1. (transitive) To complete (something).
    Be sure to finish your homework before you go to bed!
  2. (transitive) To apply a treatment to (a surface or similar).
    The furniture was finished in teak veneer.
    • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter X, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
      Mr. Cooke had had a sloop yacht built at Far Harbor, the completion of which had been delayed, and which was but just delivered. […] The Maria had a cabin, which was finished in hard wood and yellow plush, and accommodations for keeping things cold.
    • 1961 February, “New "Mini-Buffets" from Wolverton”, in Trains Illustrated, page 79:
      Seats are trimmed in a grey and blue moquette and tables are finished with grey Vyanide tops, gilt edging and ebony legs.
  3. (transitive) To change an animal's food supply in the months before it is due for slaughter, with the intention of fattening the animal.
    Due to BSE, cows in the United Kingdom must be finished and slaughtered before 30 months of age.
  4. (intransitive) To come to an end.
    We had to leave before the concert had finished.
  5. (transitive) To put an end to; to destroy.
    These rumours could finish your career.
  6. (intransitive, sex) To reach orgasm.
    • 2019 June 14, Macaela Mackenzie, Lindsay Geller, “Why Your Orgasm Is MIA—And Exactly What To Do About It”, in Women's Health‎, archived from the original on 25 January 2021:
      "Understand the anxiety around sex and what beliefs are triggering it," says Van Kirk."Are you worried you aren't good in bed? That you'll come off as selfish? That pleasuring you will take too long? Reframe that anxiety. Your excitement needs to be louder than any anxiety" to finish.

Usage notes

Conjugation

Conjugation of finish
infinitive (to) finish
present tense past tense
1st-person singular finish finished
2nd-person singular finish, finishest† finished, finishedst†
3rd-person singular finishes, finisheth† finished
plural finish
subjunctive finish finished
imperative finish —
participles finishing finished

†Archaic or obsolete.

Antonyms

Derived terms

Descendants

  • → Gulf Arabic: فنش (fannaš)

Translations

Anagrams

Danish

Etymology

From English finish.

Noun

finish c (singular definite finishen, not used in plural form)

  1. (the appearance after) fine-tuning, finishing touch
  2. finish (a spectacular end in a race or a competition)

Further reading

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈfɪ.nɪʃ/
  • Audio(file)
  • Hyphenation: fi‧nish

Etymology 1

Borrowed from English finish.

Noun

finish m (uncountable)

  1. finish; end
Derived terms

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

finish

  1. inflection of finishen:
    1. first-person singular present indicative
    2. imperative
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