Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: Old French
Origin: establir, from Latin stabilire 'to make firm'

establish

 verb
     
es‧tab‧lish S3 W1 [transitive]
1 to start a company, organization, system, etc that is intended to exist or continue for a long time [= found]:
The city of Boerne was established by German settlers in the 1840s.
Our goal is to establish a new research centre in the North.
2 to begin a relationship with someone or a situation that will continue
establish relations/links/contact etc (with somebody)
Hungary established diplomatic relations with Chile in 1990.
I wondered why he should bother to try and establish contact with me.
3 to find out facts that will prove that something is true:
The police must establish the facts of the case before proceeding.
establish that
The autopsy established that he had been murdered.
establish whether/if
I was never able to establish whether she was telling the truth.
4 to make people accept that you can do something, or that you have a particular quality
establish yourself (as/in)
He had three years in which to establish himself as Prime Minister.
He'd already begun to establish quite a reputation as a journalist.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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