success
Americannoun
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the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors; the accomplishment of one's goals.
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the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.
- Synonyms:
- triumph, accomplishment, achievement
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a performance or achievement that is marked by success, as by the attainment of honors.
The play was an instant success.
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a person or thing that has had success, as measured by attainment of goals, wealth, etc..
She was a great success on the talk show.
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Obsolete. outcome.
noun
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the favourable outcome of something attempted
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the attainment of wealth, fame, etc
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an action, performance, etc, that is characterized by success
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a person or thing that is successful
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obsolete any outcome
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonsuccessnoun
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presuccessnoun
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successlessnessnoun
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semisuccessadjective
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successlessadjective
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successlesslyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of success
First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin successus, equivalent to succēd-, stem of succēdere succeed + -tus suffix of verb action, with -dt- regularly becoming -ss-
Explanation
For some students, success in school means getting As and Bs. For others, it means getting straight As, starring in the school play, and winning the class election. Success means achieving a goal, and everyone's goals are different. We tend to think of success as a triumph or victory, but if you look at its linguistic roots in Latin, success literally just means "result." At some point several centuries ago people probably began using success as shorthand for "good success," and eventually they dropped the good altogether. That would explain why in formal settings you still occasionally hear the phrase "good success," even though we now think of all successes as good.
Vocabulary lists containing success
"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act I
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Commonly Misspelled Words, List 5
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"Kids Are Inventors, Too"
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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:
Robust first-half earnings from Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs last week have triggered earnings and recommendation upgrades from research analysts as they say Wall Street’s success may be shared by rivals in Europe as well.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
The success was surreal for the band members as they heard the song on the radio, in restaurants and the gym.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Saying that Kushner “is a volunteer” with a “record of success in helping the President,” Kelly maintained that “his private business activities have nothing to do with the President or the administration.”
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
Newcastle needed to see more of an immediate return from a £100m-plus net spend last summer, for example, but defender Malick Thiaw has been the only unquestioned success.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
It was a blitzkrieg all over again, and the Germans met with great success.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Finally, the administration should view these agreements not as isolated successes but as the foundation of a broader coalition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
To truly compete with SpaceX, China will need to refine its technology and ensure that its breakthrough launch is backed up by future successes.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
Inspired by successes in Asia, SEZs have seen rapid growth in Africa in recent years, with more than 230 in 2025, according to a study by the French Development Agency.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
It is understood he believes his appointment was not a disaster - with some notable successes.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
How many winners were losers, successes failures, rich men poor men?
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
