finish

Universal Words verb, noun verb 1 to stop doing sth or making sth because it is complete: [VN] Haven't you finished your homework yet? * She finished law school last year. * I'll just finish the chapter then I'll come. * a beautifully finished piece of furniture * He put the finishing touches to his painting (= did the things that made it complete). * [V-ing] Be quiet! He hasn't finished speaking. * [V] I thought you'd never finish! [also Vspeech] 2 to come to an end; to bring sth to an end: [V] The play finished at 10.30. * The symphony finishes with a flourish. * [VN] A cup of coffee finished the meal perfectly. 3 [VN] ~ sth (off / up) to eat, drink or use what remains of sth: He finished off his drink with one large gulp. * We might as well finish up the cake-there isn't much left. 4 to be in a particular state or position at the end of a race or a competition: [V-ADJ] She was delighted to finish second. * The dollar finished the day slightly down. * [V] He finished 12 seconds outside the world record. 5 [VN] ~ sb (off) (informal) to make sb so tired or impatient that they cannot do any more: Climbing that hill really finished me off. * A lecture from my parents now would just finish me. PHRASALVERBS finish sb/sth<->off (informal) to destroy sb/sth, especially sb/sth that is badly injured or damaged: The hunter moved in to finish the animal off. finish sth<->off to do the last part of sth; to make sth end by doing one last thing: I need about an hour to finish off this report. * They finished off the show with one of their most famous songs. finish up... (BrE) to be in a particular state or at a particular place after a series of events: [+ADJ] If you're not careful, you could finish up seriously ill. finish with sb 1 (BrE) to end a relationship with sb: She finished with her boyfriend last week. 2 to stop dealing with a person: He'll regret he ever said it once I've finished with him. finish with sth 1 to no longer need to use sth: When you've finished with the book, can I see it? 2 (BrE, informal) to stop doing sth: I've finished with gambling. finish (up) with sth to have sth at the end: We had a five-course lunch and finished up with coffee and mints. * To finish with, we'll listen to a few songs. noun 1 [C,usually sing.] the last part or the end of sth: a dramatic finish to the race * It was a close finish, as they had predicted. * They won in the end but it was a tight finish. * The story was a lie from start to finish. * I want to see the job through to the finish. seealsoPHOTOFINISH 2 [C,U] the last covering of paint, polish, etc. that is put onto the surface of sth; the condition of the surface: to apply extra coats of finish * a gloss / matt finish * furniture available in a range of finishes 3 [C,U] the final details that are added to sth to make it complete: The bows will give a feminine finish to the curtains. IDIOMS see FIGHTv.