ambition
Americannoun
-
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:
"For me it's just ambition and confidence," Giroud told BBC Match of the Day when asked about Mbappe's remarkable rise.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
There’s little mystery about what has come between Trump’s ambition and the real world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
He added: "It has been fantastic that nearly 400 towns have come forward, sharing their sense of pride, ambition and desire to demonstrate how much they have, and continue to contribute to our national story."
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
In her zeal to convince readers that social and systemic factors shape women’s careers, Ms. O’Connell risks triggering the opposite reaction: Perhaps all women are fated to be victims of the ambition penalty.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
I was beginning to see the extent of his ambition.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Larry Ellison, co-founder of software giant Oracle, is bankrolling his son’s ambitions to acquire a second major entertainment company in less than a year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
He skirted a question about whether closer New Zealand-India ties would curb Beijing's ambitions in the region.
From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026
Jefferies analyst Brent Thill highlighted in a Wednesday note that Meta is likely to continue ramping up its AI spending and cloud ambitions.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
AI is treated primarily as a business or tech story, a race between rich companies with sci-fi ambitions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
If he had ambitions for his daughters, he did not have the foresight and energy to make them real.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
