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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

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.