Achieve Meaning: Why You Achieve a Goal but Reach a Place
To achieve something is to reach it through effort. The word carries the work with it, which is why you achieve a result but simply reach a station.
To achieve is to succeed in doing or getting something after effort. The effort is built into the word: nobody achieves a bus stop, they reach it. Achieve is reserved for things that were hard.
- To succeed in reaching a goal. *She achieved a first-class degree.*
- To bring about a result. *The talks achieved nothing.*
- To attain a quality or state. *The paint achieves a matt finish.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | achieve | They achieved record sales. |
| Past | achieved | He achieved it at the third attempt. |
| Noun | achievement | A remarkable achievement. |
| Adjective | achievable | Set achievable targets. |
| Person | achiever | A high achiever. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The team achieved everything it set out to do.Goal followed by effort.
- Nothing was achieved in four hours of argument.Common negative use.
- She achieved recognition late in life.An abstract result.
- That temperature is not achievable with this oven.The adjective.
Achieve, accomplish, attain and reach
- Achieve — succeed at something demanding, with a result to show
- Accomplish — complete a defined task; a shade more about finishing
- Attain — reach a level or standard, often formal: *attain the age of eighteen*
- Reach — arrive at, with no implication of difficulty
From Old French *achever*, to finish or bring to a head, from the phrase *a chief venir* — to come to a head. The idea underneath is completion, not merely success.
What is the noun form of achieve?
Achievement. Note the spelling: the e before the m is kept, unlike in *judgment*.
Can you achieve a person or a place?
No. Achieve takes results, goals, standards and states — not physical destinations or people.