ambition
Americannoun
-
ambitions
plural
-
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:
Burdened by unquenchable ambition, cocksure confidence and immeasurable talent, Whistler was in many ways an outlier of his age, with an inside track to 20th-century modernism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said Prime Minister Andy Burnham had "set out a bold ambition to end homelessness and rough sleeping at the earliest opportunity".
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
"We've already announced an immediate £340m cash boost to support this ambition, which sits alongside our other work to fund vital support services and takes total investment to £3.9bn," they addded.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
Cusack’s Ivan has ambition and drive while Robbins’ Josh is sensitive and creative.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
"But, Camellia, ambition leads to insanity. The God of Madness feeds on it."
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
Still, the company’s international ambitions shouldn’t be dismissed, according to Elise Thomas, an investigator at the Centre for Information Resilience, a nonprofit research group based in London and backed in part by the U.K. government.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
"OpenAI should not be permitted to use Apple's secrets to gain an unjust head start in its hardware ambitions," the iPhone-maker says.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
Reflecting on the anniversary of The Score, Jean said the Fugees' ambitions had always extended beyond music.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
SpaceX may be betting its future on artificial intelligence, but for now investors are leery of the massive amount of money required to execute on those ambitions.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
It was another instance, and not the last, of Cavendish intuition and resourcefulness outplaying labs with more soaring ambitions, superior resources, and, perhaps, a touch less vision.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
