achievea‧chieve /əˈtʃiːv/ ●●● S2 W1 AWL verb 
She eventually achieved her goal of becoming a professor. Wilson has achieved considerable success as an artist. Frances achieved very good exam results.► see thesaurus at succeedRegisterIn everyday English, people usually say someone gets a result rather than achieves it:· He got good grades in his final exams.2[intransitive] to be successful in a particular kind of job or activity: We want all our students to achieve within their chosen profession.—achievable adjective
WORD ORIGINachieve
Origin:
1300-1400 Old French achever, from chief ‘end, head’VERB TABLE
achieve
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | achieve |
| he, she, it | achieves | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | achieved |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have achieved |
| he, she, it | has achieved | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had achieved |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will achieve |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have achieved |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am achieving |
| he, she, it | is achieving | |
| you, we, they | are achieving | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was achieving |
| you, we, they | were achieving | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been achieving |
| he, she, it | has been achieving | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been achieving |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be achieving |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been achieving |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- He had achieved all his goals for the organization, and felt there were no challenges left there for him.
- My parents constantly encouraged me to achieve.
- On the test drive, Segrave achieved speeds of over 200 mph.
- She's achieved a lot in the short time she's been with the company.
- The reason I achieve good results is because I work hard -- and so could you.
- The software division expects to achieve its sales targets this year.
- When you get your MA, you really feel that you've achieved something.
- Women have yet to achieve full equality in the workplace.
- Control may also be achieved through resource management, such as social insurance schemes or payment of retainers or fees for service.
- He may achieve a little more animation this time if Party Politics wins him his place in history.
- If the AlomarHirschbeck rapprochement were to be achieved, it would only be the latest in a growing apology fad.
- In a world of shifting boundaries, vanishing borders, and proliferating frontiers, security is even more difficult to achieve.
- Perhaps multiculturalism, in its achieved form, was a polyphony of just such well-trained voices.
- This will enable businesses to sell more widely, achieving greater economies of scale.
- Until that happy day, the only way to achieve an enjoyable and comfortable life is to work for it.
- Young men's friendships rarely achieve the depth of intimacy of young women's.
THESAURUSsucceed in doing something
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.
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.
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.
verb [transitive] formal to achieve something: · The government accomplished its objective of reducing violent crime.· What do you hope to accomplish this year?
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?
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.
Longman Language Activatorto succeed in doing something to do something that you hoped to do, tried to do, or wanted to do: · She wanted to be the first woman to climb Mount Everest and she almost succeeded.· I tried to reassure Billy's mother that it was a passing phase, but I don't think I succeeded.· Muir succeeds where other designers have failed -- her clothes are original, yet stylish.succeed in doing something: · In one year, we've succeeded in increasing profits by 40%.succeed at: · I admired Goldie, because she had succeeded at a task that had even defeated my mother.
to succeed in doing something difficult after trying very hard, especially when you almost do not succeed: · Martin still hasn't got his invalidity pension sorted out, but he's managing all right at the moment.· If you hadn't have been here, I don't think I would have managed.· I don't know how he managed it, but the crisis is over.· Can you manage that door Mike? It looks awfully heavy.manage to do something: · He finally managed to find an apartment near his office.· At least three hostages managed to escape.manage with/without something: · Well, I suppose we could just about manage without electricity for the night.
to succeed in doing something, especially something that needs a lot of work or effort such as passing a test or getting a job: · Does Joey have a realistic chance of being successful at the audition?be successful in doing something: · If I'm successful in raising over £500, those funds will go to the Bible School.
to be fairly successful in doing something, or to achieve part of what you wanted to achieve: · Our aim was to disrupt the enemy's transport network and we had some success.· If we only have some success in reducing the number infected with HIV, I feel it will have been worthwhile.have some success/have limited success in doing something: · The Santa Barbara seismic research team has had some success in predicting earthquakes.
to gradually start to achieve something that you want to achieve, by working hard: · I'm not very good at Japanese yet, but I feel I am making progress.· We have made very great progress in reducing the number of deaths on our roads.make progress with/towards/on: · At last I began to make some progress with my research.make progress in doing something: · BEA has made good progress in implementing the new health and safety regulations.
to succeed in doing something important, especially something that other people will admire you for: · She's achieved a lot in the short time she's been with the company.· The reason I achieve good results is because I work hard -- and so could you.· When you get your MA, you really feel that you've achieved something.· He had achieved all his goals for the organization, and felt there were no challenges left there for him.
to succeed in doing or finishing something good that you have planned to do, after trying hard for a long time: · What exactly do you hope to accomplish this year?· She found the job frustrating, and felt she wasn't accomplishing anything there.
if you get results , you achieve what you are trying to do: · It was three or four years before we really started getting results.· This shows that if we devote sufficient energy and resources to a problem, we get results.· As I manager, I pride myself on getting results.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY She eventually achieved her goal of becoming a professor. Wilson has achieved considerable success as an artist.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES the woman who performed the feat of sailing around the world alone The local church has gained notoriety for being different. She first came to prominence as an artist in 1989. He achieved some renown as a football player. Utah obtained statehood in 1896.
She eventually achieved her goal of becoming a professor. Wilson has achieved considerable success as an artist.· The Internet bank achieved its aim of attracting 50,000 customers last year.· Once she had decided to go into publishing, she set out to fulfil her aim.
(=do what you wanted to do)· It took her ten years to achieve her ambition.· He was prepared to go to any lengths to fulfil his ambition.· I want to thank all those who made it possible for me to realize a lifetime’s ambition.
(=succeed in getting the right balance)· It is necessary to strike a balance between the needs of employers and employees.· Find the right balance between enough exercise and enough rest.
· With further funding, the research team hope to be able to achieve a breakthrough.
· First you have to acquire competence in methods of research.
· Will further talks achieve a consensus on the UN peace plan?
(=do or get what you want)· He had finally achieved his dream of winning an Olympic gold medal.
(=to get what you want, used to show disapproval)· Some people would do almost anything to achieve their own ends.
· He praised the generations who struggled to achieve racial equality.
· Amy Johnson found fame as a pilot.
the woman who performed the feat of sailing around the world alone· She has worked hard to achieve her goal of a job in the medical profession.· They’re hoping to reach their goal of raising £10,000 for charity.
British English:· Rick had achieved good exam grades.
· After the war, Europe achieved remarkable economic growth.
· He would never achieve true happiness until he took control of his life.
· If this really is a fair society, why is it taking so long to achieve racial harmony?
(=get independence)· Our aim was to achieve full independence.
· China’s imports of wheat reached record levels.
· He has definitely achieved mastery of this very difficult subject.
The local church has gained notoriety for being different. (also attain an objective formal)· The policy should help us achieve our objective of reducing paper waste.
(=become popular)· Her books achieved tremendous popularity on both sides of the Atlantic.
(=succeed as much as you have the potential to succeed)· A lot of athletes find it difficult to achieve their potential.
· The talks ended with no real progress having been achieved.
She first came to prominence as an artist in 1989. (=achieve what you wanted to achieve)· She had achieved her purpose, at least in part.
(also attain a rank formal)· He rose to the rank of colonel.
· The Department of Computer Science received a top rating last year.
· Toni has been striving to achieve recognition for the past ten years.
He achieved some renown as a football player.· You can achieve the same result by simply clicking on the menu.
(=after a lot of discussions)· The government was determined to achieve a settlement in Northern Ireland.
Utah obtained statehood in 1896.· China has had considerable success in conserving water since 1983.
(=meet it)· They achieved their target with just days to spare.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN· The two main aims were achieved across the board.· Backed by such organizations, they returned to mainstream institutions with the aim of achieving genuine reform.· The tactics by which such aims were to be achieved were reformist and not revolutionary.· The aim is to achieve a sharper understanding of what is involved in logical ability.· To a considerable extent these aims are being achieved.· This chapter explains how that aim was achieved.· The aim is to achieve a high level of income with the prospect of long-term capital growth.· A worthy aim, well achieved by the camera.
· He has at last achieved his ambition to look both indistinguishable and distinctive.· He had achieved his life's ambition.· Would she herself end up like that, if she achieved her ambition of becoming the managing editor of a magazine?· Ivan Lendl will not achieve his last great ambition - to be Wimbledon Singles Champion. 8.· It was not until last year that I achieved my ambition to sail there.· Five days later Vernage was to achieve his gruesome ambition to kill a policeman.
· At the wider level each of the units has to be sequenced to achieve a balance through the entire key stage.· Years later, I am constantly adjusting my feelings downward to achieve that fine balance of caution and melancholy. 30.· It demands considerable skills to achieve the delicate balance required between the painted finish and the natural grain of the timber.· The management have achieved an excellent balance between service and relaxed atmosphere which is felt throughout the hotel.· To achieve a balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide, one human needed 8 square metres of exposed Chlorella.· Seemingly, two separate conditions must be satisfied to achieve proper balance.· Maybe some other race of intelligent beings elsewhere in the galaxy will achieve a better balance between responsibility and aggression.· The central dilemma the Committee faced was how to achieve a balance in company boards between strong direction and accountability.
· The information at the centre will permit the board to determine exactly how close it is to achieving these change management objectives.· He added that she couldn't achieve dramatic change alone.· This reduction was achieved by a change in the calculation of the uprating of these additions.· You will not succeed by assuming that decisions alone will achieve behavior change.· Stealth and persuasion were obviously required to achieve this change by democratic means.· Equilibrium is achieved through changes in the interest rate and the exchange rate. 2.· The consequences of technical change are influenced at least as much as by the objectives that managers seek to achieve in introducing change.· The emphasis of action taken in favour of DRAs must be to achieve permanent changes in income earning potential and social cohesion.
· Basking in this praise, he went into considerable technical detail about how he had achieved the effect.· He spoke for about five minutes and achieved the desired effect.· Again, we have achieved a cross over effect.· Sleeping on a contoured pillow will achieve the same effect if you prefer sleeping on foam rather than feathers.· I found that by adding white I could achieve my desired effect.· The playing with words to achieve effect in the description of the progress of the wave is fascinating.· So an illustration may offer far wider possibilities for the art director to achieve special effects and a distinctive style.· A satisfactory surplus has been achieved and the effect of the decline in membership and examination entries has been contained.
· Often this effort achieves its end as baroque comedy.· Today, you need a coordinated effort to help you achieve success.· Was the new design perhaps unconsciously modelled on the Sun newspaper, in an effort to achieve similar sales figures?· Program evaluation is concerned specifically with determining the worth or values of efforts expended to achieve a given purpose or objective.· And there are few effects which require more time or effort to achieve.· His father emphasized strenuous effort to achieve goals and total obedience to those in authority, and he ranted about corrupt politicians.· In defining modules in terms of student effort a basis is achieved for comparing arts and science modules with their differing class contact time.· Human survival is the final indispensable objective of all efforts to achieve a universal humane competence in 1985.
· Like the fighters he clearly adores, Toole relies on pacing and power to achieve his ends.· Among organizations that regularly fail to achieve their ends, this is precisely what happens.· With brute force techniques ... they do achieve about the same end result as we do with much more sophisticated techniques.· Under optimal circumstances, reorganizing can help a struggling organization achieve any of these ends.· We may need to find alternative means achieve some end.· In low slack systems, vigorous competition in the environment prevents managers from easily tailoring their activities to achieve personal ends.· Clearly, within particular realms of human experience they may play crucial roles in assisting individuals and groups to achieve their ends.· He said the Treasury is trying to achieve its ends in the least burdensome way possible.
· He achieved the very considerable feat of isolating a material, demonstrating its purity and getting an analysis of the elements present.· He could become the first Buck to achieve the statistical feat for the season since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it in 1974-75.· Givaudon achieved his feat simply by soaking the growing shoots of plants in colchicine.· Powell achieved a similar feat, but then resigned.· That way, says Denis, you can achieve the sometimes difficult feat of appearing interested in what is being said.· At one level this has enabled him to achieve the considerable feat of maintaining reasonably stable government for more than twenty years.· I had achieved the remarkable feat of uniting the two factions at the party in mockery of me.
· But they gave no timeframe to achieve such a goal.· If a group can achieve its goals through the sum of individual contributions, then the traditional working group makes sense.· Adaptation to a changing environment may be necessary as before to achieve traditional goals.· If you do this for the next ten years you will have achieved 360 of your goals.· It is most important that the patient considers the likely consequences of different ways of trying to achieve goals.· In time Carville would achieve many of the goals set by the administration.· The difficult bit is knowing how to achieve those goals.· Steering organizations need to find the best methods to achieve their goals.
· The capital increase is to help speed the investment programme and to achieve Olivetti's growth targets.· Once the plant has achieved reasonable growth it should be transplanted in the aquarium.· Like all agencies operating in a squeezed market, it faces the challenge of achieving corporate growth.· We aim to ensure that managers will be more effective, achieve personal growth and contribute to corporate development.· It also accepted that only free markets could achieve economic growth.· Such policies may hinder attempts to achieve economic growth and may increase the level of unemployment.· Those economies which have successfully switched underemployed agricultural labour into manufacturing and service activities have generally achieved significant real economic growth rates.
· Analogously, computerised text recognition needs to use higher level knowledge to achieve comparable levels of performance.· To achieve the highest levels of profit the Profitboss sets to achieve the highest levels of trust within his team.· In rested subjects alpha rhythm is indicative of low arousal, but sleep-deprived subjects commonly only achieve this level of arousal at best.· It does not allow for the pupil who is able to achieve in this example level 6.· Presumably all that has been compared is the percentage of pupils achieving certain levels at age 11 and then at 14.· Val Pinder who has been away for some months due to illness achieves a fantastic level of sales and came in fourth.· By definition, many thirteen-year-olds in secondary schools will be achieving at the level of many sixteen-year-olds.· Because, perhaps surprisingly to its critics, the survey reveals lawyers are achieving an impressively high level of client satisfaction.
· Obviously, there is room for debate about the means of achieving those objectives and how accommodating our criteria should be.· The lawyer is responsible for working with the client to decide the best means to achieve those objectives.· Management accounting Planning means deciding objectives and the means for achieving them.· Where the consensus broke down was over the means used to achieve the goals.· The managed mixed economy and a highly developed system of collective social provision were the means for achieving these values.· The quest for quality is continuing, but the best means of achieving it are debatable.· Laura had been perceptive enough to create the means of achieving this.· And for the first time, they had the means to achieve it.
· Obviously, there is room for debate about the means of achieving those objectives and how accommodating our criteria should be.· In the current chapter we probe deeper into trade structure in order to achieve two objectives.· It didn't come back with a refusal and allow us to discuss alternative ways of achieving our objective.· And they were prepared to accept unlimited losses to achieve their sacred objective.· The information at the centre will permit the board to determine exactly how close it is to achieving these change management objectives.· To achieve this objective, communities could choose from a long list of eligible activities specified in the legislation.· Suppliers are expected to propose one or more strategies which will achieve the objectives described in this document.· None of these visionary schemes for Niagara ever reached fruition, but one Utopian dreamer did achieve his objective.
· In general, however, the scheme has been successful and has achieved the purposes for which it was instituted.· When I die, I can, if I am lucky, die knowing that I have achieved my purposes.· A group is a collection of individual people who come together to achieve some purpose.· They concentrate ori mobilizing and deploying capital, labor, and technology to achieve desired purposes.· The plotter had achieved his purpose.· Program evaluation is concerned specifically with determining the worth or values of efforts expended to achieve a given purpose or objective.· A prudential practice is instrumental in nature, being designed to achieve a specific substantive purpose.· But groups can employ a variety of strategies to achieve this purpose.
· Practices with less stable populations would have to run shorter cycles to achieve similar detection rates.· You can also switch down to medium graphics to achieve higher frame rates but you lose a big portion of the experience.· She stressed, however, that that could be achieved only through interest rates.· But no country has yet managed to achieve a low birth rate while infant deaths rates remain high.· In Figure 16.9, equilibrium is achieved with a rate of interest re and a quantity of money Me.· Government surveys generally achieve a good response rate.· You thus have plenty of opportunity to achieve the keenest interest rate and save money.· You are probably doing well with toddlers if you achieve a success rate of between 50 and 70 percent.
· All of these situations produce character-level ambiguity which must be reduced to achieve good recognition performance.· The training to achieve a recognition speed of 6o characters per second was accomplished in 3 1 / 2 hours.· Access to the compound tree is achieved through the word recognition tree.· They had to achieve managerial recognition that accountability to colleagues in the team was important alongside accountability to individual agencies.· For example: Handwriting contains many similarly shaped characters which must be distinguished from each other to achieve effective recognition.· Not to have achieved recognition as a failure, felt Dyson, was almost worse than the failing itself.
· Many hoped to achieve a reduction in numbers of follow up appointments.· How does Health Secretary Virginia Bottomley hope to achieve a ten percent reduction in smokers without a ban on tobacco ads?· Even more importantly, it can achieve dramatic reductions in the amount of energy used.· For this reason it is not often possible to achieve a reduction in space requirement by using an inverted file.· It is unlikely that when they signed they could ever have had the slightest hope of achieving such a reduction.· Naturally, networks that achieve such frequency-dependent reduction are termed filters.· Therefore after six months the dieter is behaving according to all twenty-six goals and she has achieved a considerable reduction in sugar intake.· To set up a working group to look at ways of achieving a reduction of differentials for next year.
· The subsequent establishment of a one-party state would have achieved the same result.· They also introduced bills that would achieve the same result.· The draftsman employed several different forms of words to achieve this result.· Failure in government is not failure to achieve results, it is failure to secure reelection.· Effectiveness: ensuring that the output from any given activity is achieving the desired results.· It is your positive actions coupled with a positive attitude that will achieve results.· It is of course possible to be an effective manager without coaching but by using this skill you can achieve even better results.· An alternative procedure which achieves the same result but is more convenient computationally is the following.
· If the Commission thinks the case admissible and worth proceeding with, it sees if it can achieve a friendly settlement.· The flawed Geneva accommodation had postponed rather than achieved a settlement.· This evidence assisted, I understand, in achieving a seven-figure settlement offer.· No one can underestimate the difficulties implicit in achieving a negotiated settlement.· It plans to issue a protective writ but is hoping to achieve a settlement.
· The early stages are the most critical in achieving high environmental standards and safe operation.· Place more stress on ensuring that students achieve high academic standards.· His responsibility is to ensure that a particular package has achieved the quality standards set by the project which is using it.· Fears not being influential... failure to achieve their standards.· Students who achieve an acceptable standard may have the opportunity to progress to degree studies.· Providing a sense of accomplishment and recognition to those achieving standards of performance 5.· In addition, all regional buyers inspect and approve all raw material stores personally to ensure they achieve our laid down standards.· He had achieved, by the standards of Wall Street, technical mastery of his subject.
· If the vote is successful, the school could achieve grant maintained status by September next year.· He saw the company achieve its current status of international acclaim.· A society of master chefs was formed to achieve professional status similar to that of doctors or lawyers for its members.· Bhagat Singh, the presumed killer, eluded arrest and quickly achieved the status of hero.· After he achieved celebrity status through Dynasty he took to visiting hospitals and rehabilitation centres warning youngsters of the dangers of drugs.· Sutherland had achieved canonical status in the field by devising a computer program called Sketchpad.· It will only take a short time before non-specialist schools achieve the same status as secondary moderns.· Married women began to achieve legal status as individuals in their own right.
· Despite our analysis, most of our engineers felt that they were achieving professional success and personal satisfaction.· To achieve electoral success, pragmatic parties might shift their position or expand the range of viewpoints they encompass.· Operational highlights Our operating activities during 1992 have achieved a number of successes.· The cards tell me that the path you have chosen is rocky, but with total dedication you will achieve success.· And in the third year of his presidency, he actually achieved some remarkable successes in that area.· You are thus delegating the right to achieve failure as well as success.· Others achieve more success with more discrete behind-the. scenes strategies, such as alliances and coalitions.
· How can they achieve maximum or target levels of profits or sales without precise information concerning their revenues and costs?· The new group did not in fact achieve its target of 100,000 pledged supporters and had faded away by March.· With Thames privatised, it is a private sector project with appropriate incentives paid to workers who achieve their targets.· Success is when you achieve your target 20 percent return on assets at the year's end.· Managers will need education and training to achieve the targets set.· Joan formed a ladies' committee at Trentham Park Golf Club dedicated to achieving the target.· They achieved 173 percent of target.
· This is an outline of the way speed can be achieved during normal updating.· Have the clients brainstorm other ways they could achieve the desired effects without overdrinking.· More subtle and effective, but much more involved, ways of achieving the same end have been devised.· Not only does it discredit traditional replication techniques, it also steers the organization toward less costly ways of achieving its ends.· There must be a better way to achieve a city at peace with itself.· There are many ways people can achieve long-term financial goals.· In addition, the students should be allowed to choose the way they prefer to achieve mastery of the material of the unit.· The occasion challenged her to either alter her vision or to imagine new ways of achieving it.
VERB· In the narrow sense, it failed to achieve its specific aims.· Several Congressmen criticized the Mahatma for having failed to achieve a concrete fraction of independence.· In the epinephrine group, the only case who failed to achieve initial haemostasis received surgical intervention.· Reagan had failed to achieve his basic goals in foreign policy.· He failed to achieve this but remained in the country with his friend John Bell.· It fails to achieve this questionable end for reasons that struggling organizations seldom understand.· When Sheila Sheffield fails to achieve her quota for the quarter, he helps Sheila discover the reasons.· You can do your job and fail to achieve the results that your job was Originally meant to serve.
· What seems to be of more use to people are specific things they can do to help them achieve these states.· They achieve the competitive edge because everyone is helping to achieve it.· These are all assets which not everyone has and can help you in achieving your goals.· At least two basic steps could help achieve this goal.· Delegates also called for increased formal training to help achieve higher and more consistent standards.· Apart from the victims are the accomplices, who - knowingly or unknowingly - help the hypocrite to achieve his goals.· They do also help to achieve and sustain rapport and stimulate the respondent's thinking.· Aiming at these targets will help you to achieve the goals fixed for all students. 8.
· There are three main ways in which the government hopes to achieve its aims.· The profit at the end of the first year was greater than either Liz or Carol had hoped to achieve.· What had they hoped to achieve?· They hope to achieve the functionality of the vertebrate brain in a silicon machine.· She wasn't quite sure where she hoped to get to, what she hoped to achieve, but it felt right.· Your mission statement should describe the business you are in and what you hope to achieve.
· We all know only too well how disheartening it can be to try hard but achieve nothing.· The women who are trying to achieve the ultimate in feminine physical perfection, ironically, look surprisingly like men.· Don't try to achieve a design in stark black and white.· Step 3 For each point state the most likely settlement that you and the other party will try to achieve.· In other words, the drafter must understand what he/she is trying to achieve.· Will you please tell me what you are trying to achieve?· That encompasses what we are trying to achieve.· Later more imaginative tactics were adopted to try to achieve maximum disruption for a small loss of earnings.
WORD FAMILYnounachievementachieverunderachiever ≠ overachieverunderachievement ≠ overachievementverbachieveunderachieve ≠ overachieveadjectiveachievable
1[transitive] to successfully complete something or get a good result, especially by working hard: She eventually achieved her goal of becoming a professor. Wilson has achieved considerable success as an artist. Frances achieved very good exam results.► see thesaurus at succeedRegisterIn everyday English, people usually say someone gets a result rather than achieves it:· He got good grades in his final exams.2[intransitive] to be successful in a particular kind of job or activity: We want all our students to achieve within their chosen profession.—achievable adjective