Loading page
say it: FIN-ish
finish is a noun and verb meaning "a decorative texture or appearance of a surface (or the substance that gives it that appearance)". It is pronounced /ˈfɪnɪʃ/ — FIN-ish. It carries 15 recorded senses.
a decorative texture or appearance of a surface (or the substance that gives it that appearance)
“the boat had a metallic finish”
“he applied a coat of a clear finish”
“when the finish is too thin it is difficult to apply evenly”
the temporal end; the concluding time
“the stopping point of each round was signaled by a bell”
“the market was up at the finish”
“they were playing better at the close of the season”
a highly developed state of perfection; having a flawless or impeccable quality
“they performed with great polish”
“I admired the exquisite refinement of his prose”
“almost an inspiration which gives to all work that finish which is almost art”
the place designated as the end (as of a race or journey)
“a crowd assembled at the finish”
“he was nearly exhausted as their destination came into view”
designated event that concludes a contest (especially a race)
“excitement grew as the finish neared”
“my horse was several lengths behind at the finish”
“the winner is the team with the most points at the finish”
the downfall of someone (as of persons on one side of a conflict)
“booze will be the finish of him”
“it was a fight to the finish”
event whose occurrence ends something
“his death marked the ending of an era”
“when these final episodes are broadcast it will be the finish of the show”
(wine tasting) the taste of a wine on the back of the tongue (as it is swallowed)
“the wine has a nutty flavor and a pleasant finish”
tasting
the act of finishing
“his best finish in a major tournament was third”
“the speaker's finishing was greeted with applause”
have an end, in a temporal, spatial, or quantitative sense; either spatial or metaphorical
“the bronchioles terminate in a capillary bed”
“Your rights stop where you infringe upon the rights of other”
“My property ends by the bushes”
“The symphony ends in a pianissimo”
finish eating all the food on one's plate or on the table
“She polished off the remaining potatoes”
Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.
Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for finish come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.