ambition
Americannoun
-
ambitions
plural
-
an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, as power, honor, fame, or wealth, and the willingness to strive for its attainment.
Too much ambition caused him to be disliked by his colleagues.
- Synonyms:
- longing, yearning, aspiration
-
the object, state, or result desired or sought after.
The crown was his ambition.
-
desire for work or activity; energy.
I awoke feeling tired and utterly lacking in ambition.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
strong desire for success, achievement, or distinction
-
something so desired; goal; aim
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of ambition
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English ambicio(u)n, from Middle French or directly from Latin ambitiōn- (stem of ambitiō ), equivalent to amb- ambi- + -i- “go” + -t- past participle suffix + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
Ambition is a strong desire to achieve. It's what Macbeth had too much of, and what slackers have too little of. If a person has ambition, the goal is usually wealth, power, or fame. This Middle English word is derived from Latin ambitiō, from ambīre "to go around or about." In ancient Rome, candidates for office would go around to gain votes, to further their goal of being powerful or famous.
Vocabulary lists containing ambition
Nothing But the Truth
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Stargirl
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"The Latehomecomer," Vocabulary from the memoir excerpt
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
I loved the carefree optimism and enduring sense of ambition that seemed more alive on the Pacific Ocean than it ever had been in me back home.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
The film’s own logline gets at the tension: four tenacious girls navigate an $800 million business “in which innocence and ambition collide.”
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026
“I had an ambition and it burned inside of me,” she once said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Buying a house felt like a realistic ambition if she could save enough money for a down payment.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
He repeated, “No. What made you think of ambition? Who is ambitious? I know I am: but how did you find it out?”
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Ocean Way arrives after the collapse of the LA Jazz Festival, which had bold ambitions for a 40,000-capacity set on Dockweiler Beach yet fell apart under permit and financial stress.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Jollibee said the Hong Kong exchange would provide access to a broad base of global and regional investors, making it well suited to support a business with ambitions that extend beyond Asia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
A wood recycling group's move to bigger premises means "bigger ambitions" and helping more people volunteer and learn new skills, its founders said.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
But Herrera's future coaching ambitions are on hold.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
A story was direct and simple, allowing nothing to come between herself and her reader—no intermediaries with their private ambitions or incompetence, no pressures of time, no limits on resources.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
