ambition

[am-bish-uhn]

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

/ æmˈbɪʃən /

noun

1. strong desire for success, achievement, or distinction

2. something so desired; goal; aim

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of ambition¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of ambition¹

C14: from Old French, from Latin ambitiō a going round (of candidates), a striving to please, from ambīre to go round; see _ambit

Example Sentences

The two-time world champion returns on 19 December in a contest against YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul - a bout that does little for his title ambitions but a great deal for his bank balance.

Read more on BBC

It has thwarted explorers and stifled merchants’ ambitions.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

As for how to wind down before the day on which he achieves his lifetime ambition, Norris said he was going to try to relax in his hotel room on Saturday night.

Read more on BBC

This month, Rheinmetall set out ambitions to quintuple sales by the end of the decade to the equivalent of roughly $58 billion.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Watching onscreen characters trying to get ahead has stoked endless debate over the intersection of career ambition and moral code.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• appetite 
• aspiration 
• desire 
• energy 
• enthusiasm 
• hope 
• initiative 
• longing 
• love 
• lust 
• passion 
• pretension 
• spirit 
• vigor 
• yearning 
• zeal