to finish something successfully or to achieve something
The students accomplished the task in less than ten minutes.
Oxford Essential Dictionary
accomplish
verb (accomplishes, accomplishing, accomplished )
to succeed in doing something difficult that you planned to do same meaning achieve:
The first part of the plan has been safely accomplished.
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
accomplish
ac‧com‧plish /əˈkʌmplɪʃ $ əˈkɑːm-, əˈkʌm-/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: acomplir, from Vulgar Latin accomplere, from Latin ad- 'to' + complere ( ⇨ ↑complete1)]
to succeed in doing something, especially after trying very hard SYN achieve:
We have accomplished all we set out to do.
Mission accomplished (=we have done what we intended to do).
• • •
THESAURUS
■ succeed in doing something
▪ succeed verb [intransitive] to do something you tried or wanted to do: Will they succeed in winning the election? | He wanted to make her jealous, and he succeeded.
▪ manage verb [intransitive] to succeed in doing something difficult, after trying hard. Manage to do something is very commonly used instead of succeed in doing something in everyday English: He finally managed to find an apartment near his office. | Don’t worry – I’m sure we’ll manage somehow.
▪ achieve verb [transitive] to succeed in doing something good or important: She’s achieved a lot in the short time she’s been with the company. | If we are to achieve our goals, we have to plan properly.
▪ accomplish verb [transitive] formal to achieve something: The government accomplished its objective of reducing violent crime. | What do you hope to accomplish this year?
▪ make it to be successful in your career, or to succeed in reaching a place or part of a competition: Only a few people make it to the top and become professional singers. | We finally made it to Chicago. | Which two teams will make it to the final?
▪ pull off phrasal verb to succeed in doing something, especially when you could easily have not succeeded. Pull off sounds rather informal: Italy pulled off a great victory over Germany. | I’d never performed on my own before, and wasn’t sure if I could pull it off.
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
accomplish
ac·com·plish [accomplish accomplishes accomplished accomplishing] [əˈkʌmplɪʃ] [əˈkɑːmplɪʃ] verb ~ sth
to succeed in doing or completing sth
Syn: achieve
• The first part of the plan has been safely accomplished.
• I don't feel I've accomplished very much today.
• That's it. Mission accomplished (= we have done what we aimed to do).
Word Origin:
late Middle English: from Old French acompliss-, lengthened stem of acomplir, based on Latin ad- ‘to’ + complere ‘to complete’.
Example Bank:
• That's it. Mission accomplished.
• I don't feel I've accomplished very much today.
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition
accomplish / əˈkʌm.plɪʃ / / -ˈkɑːm- / verb [ T ]
C1 to finish something successfully or to achieve something:
The students accomplished the task in less than ten minutes.
She accomplished such a lot during her visit.
I feel as if I've accomplished nothing since I left my job.
Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary
accomplish
[əkʌ̱mplɪʃ, AM əkɒ̱m-]
accomplishes, accomplishing, accomplished
VERB
If you accomplish something, you succeed in doing it.
[V n] If we'd all work together, I think we could accomplish our goal...
[V n] They are skeptical about how much will be accomplished by legislation.
Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary
accomplish
ac·com·plish /əˈkɑːmplɪʃ/ verb -plish·es; -plished; -plish·ing [+ obj] : to succeed in doing (something)
• They have accomplished [=done, achieved] much in a very short period of time.
• He finally felt like he had accomplished [=done] something important.
• There are several different ways to accomplish the same task.
• It's amazing what you can accomplish [=do] through/with hard work.
• Exactly what he thought he would accomplish is unclear.
- ac·com·plish·able /əˈkʰɑmplɪʃəbəɫ/ adj [more ~; most ~]