Finish

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle), Verb (intransitive)
• HYPHEN: fin=ish

CIDE DICTIONARY

Finish, v. t. [F. finir (with a stem finiss- in several forms, whence E. -ish: see -ish.),fr. L. finire to limit, finish, end, fr. finis boundary, limit, end; perh. for fidnis, and akin findere to cleave, E. fissure.].

•  To arrive at the end of; to bring to an end; to put an end to; to make an end of; to terminate.  [1913 Webster]

  "And heroically hath finished
  A life heroic."  [1913 Webster]
•  To bestow the last required labor upon; to complete; to bestow the utmost possible labor upon; to perfect; to accomplish; to polish.

Syn. -- To end; terminate; close; conclude; complete; accomplish; perfect.

Finish, v. i. 

•  To come to an end; to terminate.  [1913 Webster]

  "His days may finish ere that hapless time."  [1913 Webster]
•  To end; to die.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]

Finish, n. 

•  That which finishes, puts an end to1913 Webster]
•  The joiner work and other finer work required for the completion of a building, especially of the interior. See Inside finish, and Outside finish.  [1913 Webster]
•  The labor required to give final completion to any work; hence, minute detail, careful elaboration, or the like.  [1913 Webster]
•  The result of completed labor, as on the surface of an object; manner or style of finishing; as, a rough, dead, or glossy finish given to cloth, stone, metal, etc.  [1913 Webster]
•  Completion; -- opposed to start, or beginning.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Finish, v. & n.
--v.
1 tr. a (often foll. by off) bring to an end; come to the end of; complete. b (usu. foll. by off) colloq. kill; overcome completely. c (often foll. by off, up) consume or get through the whole or the remainder of (food or drink) (finish up your dinner).
2 intr. a come to an end, cease. b reach the end, esp. of a race. c = finish up.
3 tr. a complete the manufacture of (cloth, woodwork, etc.) by surface treatment. b put the final touches to; make perfect or highly accomplished (finished manners). c prepare (a girl) for entry into fashionable society.
--n.
1 a the end, the last stage. b the point at which a race etc. ends. c the death of a fox in a hunt (be in at the finish).
2 a method, material, or texture used for surface treatment of wood, cloth, etc. (mahogany finish).
3 what serves to give completeness.
4 an accomplished or completed state.

Idiom

fight to a finish fight till one party is completely beaten. finishing-school a private college where girls are prepared for entry into fashionable society. finish off provide with an ending. finish up (often foll. by in, by) end in something, end by doing something (he finished up last in the race; the plan finished up in the waste-paper basket; finished up by apologizing). finish with have no more to do with, complete one's use of or association with.

Etymology

ME f. OF fenir f. L finire f. finis end

THESAURUS

Finish

Atticism, KO, Z, ablate, abort, absoluteness, absorb, accomplish, accomplishment, achieve, achievement, acquirement, acquisition, annihilate, annihilation, answer, answer conclusively, apodosis, appropriateness, argue down, assassinate, assimilate, attainment, balance, beat, beautify, bereave of life, best, bilateral symmetry, bleed white, border line, bound, boundary, boundary condition, boundary line, bourn, break boundary, breakoff point, bring down, buff, bump off, burn up, burnish, button up, call off, cancel, cap, carry away, carry off, carry out, carry to completion, catastrophe, cease, ceasing, ceiling, cessation, chasteness, chastity, chloroform, circumscription, clarity, classicalism, classicism, clean up, clearness, climax, clinch, close, close out, close up, closing, coda, comeliness, compass, complete, completing, completion, conclude, conclusion, confine, conformity, confound, confute, congruity, conquer, consistency, consume, consummate, consummation, contradict, controvert, cool, correctness, correspondence, crack of doom, crown, crush, culminate, culmination, cultivate, cultivation, curtain, curtains, cut down, cut off, cut short, cutoff, cutoff point, deadline, death, decease, defeat, defectlessness, delete, delimitation, demolish, denouement, deny, deplete, deprive of life, desistance, destination, destiny, destroy, destruction, determinant, determine, develop, devour, digest, dignity, directness, discrimination, dismiss, dispatch, dispose of, distinction, division line, do away with, do for, do in, do to death, doom, down, downfall, drain, drain of resources, drink up, drop the curtain, dust off, dynamic symmetry, ease, eat, eat up, effect, elaborate, elegance, elegancy, embellish, end, end off, end point, ending, envoi, epilogue, equality, equilibrium, erode, eschatology, eurythmics, eurythmy, evenness, evolve, execute, exhaust, expend, expiration, expunge, exterminate, extermination, extinguish, extremity, fate, faultlessness, feel, felicitousness, felicity, final solution, final twitch, final words, finale, finality, finalize, finis, finish off, finish up, finishing, fittingness, flawlessness, floor, flow, flowing periods, fluency, fold up, frontier, fulfill, full development, furbish, get done, get it over, get over with, get rid of, get through, get through with, give the quietus, glance, glaze, gloss, go, goal, gobble, gobble up, good taste, grace, gracefulness, gracility, grain, granular texture, halt, harmony, have done with, hedge, high-water mark, ice, immaculateness, immolate, impeccability, impoverish, indentation, infallibility, ingest, interface, izzard, kayo, keeping, kibosh, kill, killing, knock off, knock out, knub, last, last breath, last gasp, last things, last trumpet, last words, latter end, launch into eternity, let go, let loose, limen, limit, limitation, limiting factor, limpidity, line, line of demarcation, liquidate, low-water mark, lower limit, lucidity, luster, lynch, make away with, march, mark, martyr, martyrize, maturation, mature, maturity, mete, mop up, multilateral symmetry, murder, nap, naturalness, neatness, nip, nonplus, nub, omega, overcome, overthrow, overturn, overwhelm, parallelism, parry, patina, payoff, pellucidity, perfect, perfection, period, perorate, peroration, perspicuity, pile, pit, plainness, pock, poison, polarity, polish, polish off, proportion, proportionality, propriety, protuberance, purge, purity, put away, put down, put paid to, put to death, put to silence, put to sleep, quietus, rebut, reduce to silence, refine, refinement, refute, regularity, release, remove from life, resolution, resolve, resting place, restraint, ripen, ripeness, round out, rounding off, rounding out, rub, rub out, run through, sacrifice, scour, scrag, scrap, scratch, season, seemliness, set free, settle, shag, shapeliness, shine, shoot down, shut up, silence, simplicity, sinlessness, slaughter, slay, sleek, slick, slick down, smash all opposition, smoothness, spend, spotlessness, squander, squash, squelch, stainlessness, start, starting line, starting point, starve, stop, stoppage, stopping place, straightforwardness, structure, subvert, suck dry, surface, surface texture, swallow, swallow up, swan song, symmetricalness, symmetry, taintlessness, take life, take off, target date, taste, tastefulness, term, terminal, terminal date, terminate, termination, terminus, terseness, texture, threshold, time allotment, to, top off, top out, topping off, trilateral symmetry, ultimate, unaffectedness, undermine, uniformity, upper limit, upset, use up, varnish, wale, wash up, waste, waste away, wax, wear away, weave, wind up, windup, wipe out, woof, worst, wrap up, zap

ROGET THESAURUS

Finish

End

N end, close, termination, desinence, conclusion, finis, finale, period, term, terminus, endpoint, last, omega, extreme, extremity, gable end, butt end, fag-end, tip, nib, point, tail, verge, tag, peroration, bonne bouche, bottom dollar, tail end, rear guard, consummation, denouement, finish, fate, doom, doomsday, crack of doom, day of Judgment, dies irae, fall of the curtain, goal, destination, limit, determination, expiration, expiry, extinction, extermination, death, end of all things, finality, eschatology, break up, commencement de la fin, last stage, turning point, coup de grace, deathblow, knock-out-blow, sockdolager, ending, final, terminal, definitive, crowning, last, ultimate, hindermost, rear, caudal, vergent, conterminate, conterminous, conterminable, ended, at an end, settled, decided, over, played out, set at rest, conclusive, penultimate, last but one, last but two, unbegun, uncommenced, fresh, finally, in fine, at the last, once for all, as high as Heaven and as deep as hell, deficit omne quod nascitur, en toute chose il faut considerer la fin, finem respice, ultimus Romanorum.

VB end, close, finish, terminate, conclude, be all over, expire, die, come-, draw-to-a-close, have run its course, run out, pass away, bring to an end, put an end to, make an end of, determine, get through, achieve, stop, shut up shop, hang up one's fiddle.

Completion

N completion, accomplishment, achievement, fulfillment, performance, execution, despatch, dispatch, consummation, culmination, finish, conclusion, close, terminus, winding up, finale, denouement, catastrophe, issue, upshot, result, final touch, last touch, crowning touch, finishing touch, finishing stroke, last finish, coup de grace, crowning of the edifice, coping-stone, keystone, missing link, superstructure, ne plus ultra, work done, fait accompli, elaboration, finality, completeness, completing, final, concluding, conclusive, crowning, exhaustive, done, completed, done for, sped, wrought out, highly wrought, thorough, ripe, completely, to crown all, out of hand, the race is run, actum est, finis coronat opus, consummatum est, c'en est fait, it is all over, the game is played out, the bubble has burst, aussitot dit aussitot fait, aut non tentaris aut perfice.

VB effect, effectuate, accomplish, achieve, compass, consummate, hammer out, bring to maturity, bring to perfection, perfect, complete, elaborate, do, execute, make, go through, get through, work out, enact, bring about, bring to bear, bring to pass, bring through, bring to a head, despatch, dispatch, knock off, finish off, polish off, make short work of, dispose of, set at rest, perform, discharge, fulfill, realize, put in practice, put in force, carry out, carry into effect, carry into execution, make good, be as good as one's word, do thoroughly, not do by halves, go the whole hog, drive home, be in at the death, carry through, play out, exhaust, fill the bill, finish, bring to a close, wind up, stamp, clinch, seal, set the seal on, put the seal, give the final touch, to, put the last, put the finishing hand to, put the finishing touches on, crown, crown all, cap, ripen, culminate, come to a head, come to a crisis, come to its end, die a natural death, die of old age, run its course, run one's race, touch the goal, reach the goal, attain the goal, reach, get in the harvest.

Symmetry

N symmetry, shapeliness, finish, beauty, proportion, eurythmy, uniformity, parallelism, bilateral symmetry, trilateral symmetry, multilateral symmetry, centrality, arborescence, branching, ramification, arbor vitae, symmetrical, shapely, well set, finished, beautiful, classic, chaste, severe, regular, uniform, balanced, equal, parallel, coextensive, arborescent, arboriform, dendriform, dendroid, branching, ramous, ramose, filiciform, filicoid, subarborescent, papilionaceous, fuji-shaped, fujigata.