finishing

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
finish/ˈfɪnɪʃ/

▶verb

• 1 bring or come to an end.

  ■ consume or get through the whole or the remainder of (food or drink).

  ■ reach the end of a race or other sporting competition.

  ■ (finish up) chiefly Brit. end by doing something or being in a particular position.

  ■ (finish someone off) kill or comprehensively defeat someone.

• 2 (finish with) have no more need for.

  ■ Brit. end a relationship with.

• 3 complete the manufacture or decoration of (something) by giving it an attractive surface appearance.

  ■ complete the fattening of (livestock) before slaughter.

• 4 dated prepare (a girl) for entry into fashionable society.

▶noun

• 1 an end or final stage.

  ■ the place at which a race or competition ends.

• 2 the manner in which a manufactured article is finished.

  ■ the surface appearance of a manufactured article.

  ■ the final taste impression of a wine or beer.

– phrases
to the finish until the complete defeat of one of the participants.

– origin ME: from OFr. feniss-, lengthened stem of fenir, from L. finire, from finis ‘end’.