🇺🇸
/əˈtʃivz/
🇺🇸
/əˈtʃivz/
🇬🇧
/əˈtʃiːvz/
🇬🇧
/əˈtʃiːvz/
Past Tense
achieved
Past Participle
achieved
Gerund
achieving
3rd Person
achieves
Achieves is the third-person singular present tense of 'achieve', meaning to successfully reach a goal, complete a task, or gain something through effort and determination. Think of it as turning ambition into reality — like when Maya achieves her dream of publishing a novel after years of writing and revision.
She achieves remarkable results in every science fair she enters.
The team achieves its quarterly targets ahead of schedule.
He achieves fluency in Spanish after living in Madrid for two years.
This new policy helps small businesses achieve sustainable growth.
Every child deserves the chance to achieve their full potential.
capere
Comes from the Latin verb 'capere', meaning 'to take', 'to seize', or 'to grasp'. It conveys the core idea of obtaining, capturing, or mastering something through effort. Examples include achieve, receive, conceive, perceive, and participate.
ad-
Comes from the Latin prefix 'ad-', meaning 'to' or 'toward'. It indicates direction, addition, or intensification. In 'achieve', it combines with 'capere' to form 'ad-capere' (later evolved to 'achieve'), suggesting 'to take toward oneself' — i.e., to gain or attain. Other examples: adjoin, adopt, attract, affirm.