Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

ambition

American  
[am-bish-uhn] / æmˈbɪʃ ən /

noun

  1. 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

  2. the object, state, or result desired or sought after.

    The crown was his ambition.
    Synonyms:
    aim, goal

  3. desire for work or activity; energy.

    I awoke feeling tired and utterly lacking in ambition.
    Synonyms:
    force, drive

verb (used with object)

  1. to seek after earnestly; aspire to.

ambition British  
/ æmˈbɪʃən /

noun

  1. strong desire for success, achievement, or distinction

  2. something so desired; goal; aim

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • ambitionless adjective
  • ambitionlessly adverb
  • preambition noun
  • superambition noun

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

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.

“Our ambition is to bring this technology to the entire world. That’s not possible with injectables, full stop.”

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

A nation worth defending isn’t merely one strong enough to field an army, but one prosperous enough to reward work, invention and ambition.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

Everyone hates the Girl Boss, but female founders really were underresourced, and female ambition really was treated with disdain and distrust.

From Slate • Mar. 31, 2026

Having suppressed its military for years in an attempt to atone for the horrors it perpetrated, can Germany fulfil its newfound ambition to become Europe's preeminent military power?

From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026

Looking at the boys, under whose chairs water was pooling before spilling between the floorboard cracks, she knew they could never understand her ambition.

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.