conclude may imply a formal closing (as of a meeting).
the service concluded with a blessing
finish may stress completion of a final step in a process.
after it is painted, the house will be finished
complete implies the removal of all deficiencies or a successful finishing of what has been undertaken.
the resolving of this last issue completes the agreement
terminate implies the setting of a limit in time or space.
your employment terminates after three months
Example Sentences
Verb You can't watch TV until you finish your homework. He started his homework two hours ago and he still hasn't finished. They hope to finish their new home by winter. They're building a new home and they hope to finish by winter. The chairman finished the meeting at noon. The meeting finished on a positive note. Noun a suspense film with a perfect surprise finish The table had a shiny finish. I need to put one more coat of finish on the chair. See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Ruud used flawless footwork for side-to-side defense and found openings to deliver deep groundstrokes that could finish off points. Howard Fendrich, ajc, 9 Sep. 2022 The UConn men’s basketball team will begin Big East conference play for the 2022-23 season on the road at Butler on Dec. 17 and finish it on the road at Villanova on March 4. Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 9 Sep. 2022 On the near-touchdown catch in the front corner of the end zone in the first quarter, Harrison tried to pull the ball back to his body and secure it, but couldn’t finish before hitting the ground. Nathan Baird, cleveland, 7 Sep. 2022 Between the goals, Jamail Holmes, a sophomore forward, created numerous scoring chances, but couldn’t finish. Randy Mcroberts, Baltimore Sun, 6 Sep. 2022 In Russia, people heard a man who could never finish a sentence or get to the punch line—and whose accent marked him, to the end, as a country bumpkin. Masha Gessen, The New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2022 Anhedönia plans to finish the book on tour and deliver a final draft by the new year. Liam Hess, Vogue, 23 Aug. 2022 If the money comes through, Haukom said construction could ideally finish by 2025, although that date is not set in stone. Blake Nelsonstaff Reporter, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Aug. 2022 Wilson went on to finish second on Cleveland with 944 defensive snaps and 82 tackles that season. Mark Inabinett | Minabinett@al.com, al, 20 Aug. 2022
Noun
Very light with strong lime flavors, acidic finish. Marc Bona, cleveland, 11 Sep. 2022 The sophomore won the varsity race at the Lebanon Running Warrior Invitational in a time of 16:35.90, helping Milford to a third-place team finish. Melanie Laughman, The Enquirer, 10 Sep. 2022 Team USA came from eight points down to set up the finish. Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 10 Sep. 2022 Alongside an anti-reflective and UV-blocking finish, Warby Parker offers custom prescription lenses of any nature on all of its frames, including the Wright frame. Zee Krstic, Good Housekeeping, 9 Sep. 2022 Tannhauser said the process of welcoming a new retailer usually takes about six months start to finish. George Castle, Chicago Tribune, 9 Sep. 2022 The finish-line picture from the phototimer was inadvertently blocked by a judge. Frank Litsky, BostonGlobe.com, 9 Sep. 2022 The fit and finish of the $399 Px7 S2 is meticulous. Robert Ross, Robb Report, 9 Sep. 2022 Eastern Time, a record for the latest finish of a match at the U.S. Open. Helene Elliott, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English finisshen, borrowed from Anglo-French finiss-, stem of finir, going back to Latlin fīnīre "to mark out the boundaries, limit, put an end to, bring to a close," derivative of fīnis "boundary, limit, ending" — more at final entry 1