achievement
Americannoun
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achievements
plural
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something accomplished, especially by superior ability, special effort, great courage, etc.; a great or heroic deed.
his remarkable achievements in art.
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the act of achieving; attainment or accomplishment.
the achievement of one's object.
- Synonyms:
- realization, fulfillment
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Heraldry. the full display of the armorial bearings of an individual or corporation.
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Digital Technology. a title or icon associated with a user profile or account that indicates the person's skill or rank in an online community, especially on a gaming platform.
noun
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something that has been accomplished, esp by hard work, ability, or heroism
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successful completion; accomplishment
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heraldry a less common word for hatchment
Usage
What does achievement mean? An achievement is a great accomplishment—something achieved with great effort or skill. Achieve and achievement often imply the completion of something important or difficult—a lofty goal or a great feat. Graduating high school is an achievement. Learning a new language is an achievement. An award is an achievement. Achievement can also refer to the act of achieving, as in We need to focus on the achievement of these goals. This sense of the word doesn’t always imply impressiveness by itself—it often means the same thing as completion. Example: Becoming a nurse is a major achievement—it represents years of hard work and sacrifice.
Synonym Usage
Achievement, exploit, feat are terms for a noteworthy act. Achievement connotes final accomplishment of something noteworthy, after much effort and often in spite of obstacles and discouragements: a scientific achievement. Exploit connotes boldness, bravery, and usually ingenuity: the famous exploit of an aviator. Feat connotes the performance of something difficult, generally demanding skill and strength: a feat of horsemanship.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of achievement
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Middle French achevement “conclusion”; equivalent to achieve + -ment
Explanation
Achievement is another word for accomplishment. My greatest achievement to date is the time I won the annual hay-stacking contest at the county fair. That was twenty darn years ago, but I still look back fondly on that moment and the trophy I got to take home. A noun used to describe something finished successfully or the act of accomplishing, achievement comes from the similarly spelled Middle French achievement “a finishing.” For some people, just being able to make it to work every day on time could be considered an achievement, but the word is usually applied to feats of more heroic proportions. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Every great achievement is the victory of a flaming heart.”
Vocabulary lists containing achievement
An Inspirational Back-to-School Word List
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List 5
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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:
Still, it was the strongest students who benefited the most: “This is a common pattern in educational technology: new tools frequently widen achievement gaps rather than close them,” Google wrote.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Whitley Bay, who play in the ninth-tier Northern Football League, won three successive FA Vase finals between 2009 and 2011 – an unprecedented achievement in non-league football.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
And a rapid expansion in university enrolment raised the bar for achievement, intensifying competition.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
The channel’s achievement has been its ability to turn the structure into a recognizable brand through its stories.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
This was no mean achievement, since he was a Lutheran in a town dominated by Catholics; Sebald was clearly a hard worker and a pillar of the community.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
"Living longer is one of the great achievements of public health," said Alain Labrique, head of the WHO's data department.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
A poster from the Gold Over America Tour, which Biles launched in September 2021 following the Tokyo Olympics, completes the trio of framed achievements.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026
Against that dystopian backdrop, goofball mechanical athletes may be doing something far more valuable for their creators than outpacing our greatest sporting achievements: They’re making machines relatable.
From Slate ● Sep. 27, 2026
He used Tuesday's speech to tout his achievements, and claim the mantle of a peacemaker, at the same time as he issued a number of pointed threats.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
The boys and the other soldiers who were the audience clapped as if I had just fulfilled one of life’s greatest achievements.
From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah
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.
