<B>finish, </B>verb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to bring (action, speech, work, affairs, or any other enterprise) to an end; reach the end of; complete; end. <BR> <I>Ex. to finish one's dinner, to finish sewing a dress. He started the race but did not finish it.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to use up completely. <BR> <I>Ex. to finish a bottle of milk, to finish a spool of thread.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to prepare the surface of in some way. <BR> <I>Ex. to finish cloth with a nap, to finish metal with a dull surface.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>to perfect in detail; polish. <DD><B> 5. </B>to complete or perfect the education or social graces of (a person). <BR> <I>Ex. She was finished at an exclusive school.</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>(Informal.) <DD><B> a. </B>to overcome completely. <BR> <I>Ex. The climb finished him. My answer finished him.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to destroy; put an end to; kill. <BR> <I>Ex. to finish a wounded animal. God hath numbered they kingdom, and finished it (Daniel 5:26).</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to come to an end. <BR> <I>Ex. There was so little wind that the sailing race didn't finish until after dark.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Obsolete.) to die. <BR> <I>Ex. Who with wet cheeks were present when she finished (Shakespeare).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>the conclusion; end; close. <BR> <I>Ex. the finish of a day, to fight to a finish. The fit and worthy finish of such a life (Robert Southey).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the way in which a surface is prepared. <BR> <I>Ex. a smooth finish on furniture.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>polished condition or quality; perfection. <BR> <I>Ex. the finish of a person's manners. His singing lacks finish.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>a thing that completes or perfects anything. <BR> <I>Ex. to have an American finish put to her education and manners (Century Magazine).</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>a material used in completing or perfecting a job. <BR> <I>Ex. Bands of ebony provided the perfect finish for the cabinet.</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>cultivated manners or speech; social polish. <BR> <I>Ex. Though he lacked finish, even the Bostonians liked him.</I> <DD><B> 7a. </B>work done on a building after the main structure is completed, especially on the interior, such as window and door trim, paneling, and other features added chiefly to improve appearance. <DD><B> b. </B>material used for such work, especially high-grade lumber. <BR><I>expr. <B>finish off,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>to complete. </I> <I>Ex. Plutarch finishes off the story in his usual manner (Henry N. Coleridge).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to overcome completely; defeat, destroy, or kill. <BR> <I>Ex. He then won the championship by knocking out Jersey Joe Wolcott with about the only punch landed in their bout at Chicago. Next, he finished off Roland La Starza (London Times).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>finish up,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>to complete. </I> <I>Ex. to finish up a job.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to use up completely. <BR> <I>Ex. I've finished up all the paint.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>finish with,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>to complete. </I> <I>Ex. to finish with one's work.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to stop being friends with; have nothing further to do with. <BR> <I>Ex. to finish with a person.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>in at the finish,</B> </I>present at the end. <BR> <I>Ex. The old squire was determined to be in at the finish (W. Stephens Hayward).</I> noun <B>finisher.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="finished">
<B>finished, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>ended or completed. <DD><B> 2. </B>brought to the highest degree of excellence; perfected; polished. <BR> <I>Ex. It takes years of study and practice to become a finished musician.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="finishedcattle">
<B>finished cattle,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> cattle fat enough to be marketed before they reach full growth. Finished cattle may be as young as 8 months and weight only 600 pounds. </DL>
<A NAME="finishing">
<B>finishing, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> that which completes or gives a finished appearance to any kind of work: <DD><B> a. </B>(Textiles.) hemming, bleaching, dyeing, and the like. <BR> <I>Ex. Finishing involves all the handwork on a dress (Bernice G. Chambers).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>(Building.) ornamental work; decoration. <BR> <I>Ex. The house is ... of a pale cream color, with white finishings (Harper's).</I> <DD><B> c. </B>(Bookbinding.) the lettering and ornamental work on the covers. </DL>
<A NAME="finishingnail">
<B>finishing nail,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a slender nail with a small round head, designed to be set below the surface of the wood with a countersink and concealed by the exterior finish. </DL>
<A NAME="finishingschool">
<B>finishing school,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a private school that prepares young women for social life rather than for business or a profession, and gives chiefly arts courses. </DL>
<A NAME="finishingtouch">
<B>finishing touch,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any small change or addition tending to complete or perfect something. <BR> <I>Ex. Soon he was putting his characteristic finishing touches on the number--a little accent here, a ritardando there (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="finishline">
<B>finish line,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the line that marks the end of a race. </DL>
<A NAME="finite">
<B>finite, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1a. </B>having limits or bounds; not infinite. <BR> <I>Ex. Human understanding is finite.</I> (SYN) bounded, limited. <DD><B> b. </B>not too great or too small to be measured. <DD><B> 2. </B>of or having to do with a finite verb. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Mathematics.) <DD><B> a. </B>(of a number) capable of being reached or passed in counting. <DD><B> b. </B>(of a magnitude) less than infinite and greater than infinitesimal. <DD><B> c. </B>(of a set) having a limited number of elements. <DD><I>noun </I> what is finite; something finite. adv. <B>finitely.</B> noun <B>finiteness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="finitecanon">
<B>finite canon,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Music.) a canon whose theme comes to a definite end, instead of perpetually returning into itself. </DL>
<A NAME="finitesimal">
<B>finitesimal, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Mathematics.) distinguished by a finite ordinal. </DL>
<A NAME="finiteverb">
<B>finite verb,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a verb form that has grammatical person, number, tense, and mood; not an infinitive, participle, or gerund. In the following example <I>stopped</I> is a finite verb; <I>going</I> and <I>to mail</I> are not. <BR> <I>Ex. Before going to work, he stopped to mail the letter.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="finitude">
<B>finitude, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the condition or state of being finite. </DL>
<A NAME="fink">
<B>fink, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Slang.) <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a spy or informer, especially on union activities. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=strikebreaker.</B> <DD><B> 3. </B>an undesirable or inferior person. <BR> <I>Ex. He was not dangerous but pathetic. A fink (Norman Mailer).</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> (Slang.) to act as an informer. <BR> <I>Ex. As long as an inmate ... minds his own business and doesn't ever fink on others, he will not be molested (Canadian Saturday Night).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>fink out,</B> (U.S. Slang.) <DD><B> a. </B>to back out; retreat. </I> <I>Ex. Naturally, ARENA [a Brazilian political party] dominated Congress and so when Castella Branco decreed that the next President would be elected by Congress, the opposition finked out (Time).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to fail; flop. <BR> <I>Ex. If this fellow had really been a magician he would have finked out, busted. Instead, he's a success (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="finkeel">
<B>fin keel,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a heavy, finlike projection from the keel of a boat, especially a sailboat, which reduces leeway and increases stability by lowering the center of gravity; fin. </DL>
<A NAME="finkout">
<B>fink-out, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Slang.) an act or instance of backing out; retreat. <BR> <I>Ex. The cop-out is like a fink-out, but only more graceful (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="finky">
<B>finky, </B>adjective, <B>finkier,</B> <B>finkiest.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Slang.) unpleasant; obnoxious; undesirable. <BR> <I>Ex. a finky character. Students ... are tired of all these finky rules (Maclean's).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="finlander">
<B>Finlander, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a native or inhabitant of Finland; Finn. </DL>
<A NAME="finlandization">
<B>Finlandization, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the adoption by a European country of a foreign policy like that of Finland, which sought to maintain friendly relations with the former Soviet Union, usually by acceding to pressure from the Soviet government. <BR> <I>Ex. There is a foreign policy called Finlandization, which allows more independence than Rumania has (Manchester Guardian Weekly).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="finlet">
<B>finlet, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a small fin. </DL>
<A NAME="finmark">
<B>Finmark, </B>noun. <B>=Finnmark.</B></DL>
<A NAME="finn">
<B>Finn, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person born or living in Finland. <DD><B> 2. </B>a member of those peoples that speak Finnish or a related language; a Lapp or Estonian. </DL>
<A NAME="finnanhaddie">
<B>finnan haddie, </B>or <B>haddock,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> smoked and dried haddock. </DL>
<A NAME="finned">
<B>finned, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having a fin or fins. </DL>
<A NAME="finner">
<B>finner, </B>noun. <B>=finback.</B></DL>
<A NAME="finnesko">
<B>finnesko, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ko.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a boot, originally of Norway, made of birch-tanned reindeer skin with the hair left on. </DL>
<A NAME="finnic">
<B>Finnic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of or having to do with the Finns or the languages spoken by them. <DD><B> 2. </B>of or having to do with the division of Finno-Ugric languages to which Finnish, Estonian, and Lapp belong. </DL>
<A NAME="finnip">
<B>finnip, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (British Slang.) a five-pound note. </DL>
<A NAME="finnish">
<B>Finnish, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of or having to do with Finland, its people, or their language. <DD><B> 2. </B>Finnic (def. 2). <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>(pl. in use.) the people of Finland. <DD><B> 2. </B>the Finno-Ugric language of Finland. (Abbr:) Fin. </DL>
<A NAME="finnmark">
<B>Finnmark, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the unit of money of Finland; markka. Also, <B>Finmark.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="finnock">
<B>finnock</B> or <B>finnoc, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a sea trout, especially a white variety of the north and west of Scotland. </DL>
