ascent
Americannoun
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ascents
plural
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an act of ascending; upward movement; a rising movement.
the ascent of a balloon.
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movement upward from a lower to a higher state, degree, grade, or status; advancement.
His ascent to the governorship came after a long political career.
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the act of climbing or traveling up.
Three climbers attempted the ascent of Mount Rainier.
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the way or means of ascending; upward slope; acclivity.
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a movement or return toward a source or beginning.
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the degree of inclination; gradient.
a steep ascent.
noun
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the act of ascending; climb or upward movement
the ascent of hot gases
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an upward slope; incline or gradient
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movement back through time, as in tracing of earlier generations (esp in the phrase line of ascent )
Usage
What's the difference between ascent and assent? Ascent is a noun that means the act of moving upward (ascending), an upward movement, or upward movement in general. Assent can be a noun meaning agreement, as in I give my assent, or a verb meaning to agree or give in, as in I assent to your terms. The two words are pronounced exactly the same. Perhaps the best way to remember the difference between the two is to think about what related words mean and how they’re spelled. Words related to ascent involve movement and are spelled with sc, including ascend, ascension, descent, descend, and transcend. Words related to assent involve agreement or disagreement and end with -sent, including consent and dissent. Here’s an example of ascent and assent used correctly in a sentence. Example: I asked him if he really wanted to climb the mountain, he gave his assent, and we began our ascent. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between ascent and assent.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of ascent
Explanation
If you are moving in an upward direction, that's an ascent, like your quick ascent from new group member last year to president this year. An ascent, which comes from the Latin word ascendere, meaning "to climb up," is just that: a climb. An ascent can be physical, like an elevator's journey to the top floor, an airplane's upward motion, or your hike up a mountain. Ascent can also be a figurative climb, like a restaurant's dishwasher's whose hard work made his ascent to executive chef possible.
Vocabulary lists containing ascent
Some Tricky Homonyms
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This Week in Words: October 28 - November 3, 2017
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The Glass Menagerie
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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:
But his brand of market reformism, which lifted millions out of poverty but unleashed inequality, fell out of vogue with the ascent of Xi Jinping, China's most powerful leader in generations, in 2012.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
The total elevation climbed was roughly 110,000 meters, an average of 12,000 feet of daily vertical ascent per day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
The researchers used these experimentally measured nucleation delays in numerical models of magma ascent.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026
It also marks Pogacar's third Tour win in succession and includes a record-breaking ascent of the iconic Alpe d'Huez on stage 19, when he sealed another dominant victory.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Best to catch them at the start of their ascent toward freedom, in transit from small places, when they were anonymous, lost, their presence recorded nowhere.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
When funds go from first to worst, many people attracted at the latter stages of those ascents bail out and actually lose money.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
It tunneled 435 feet through the mountains for slightly easier descents and ascents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
Two Indian climbers have died on Mount Everest during a record-breaking period of ascents via Nepal's southern route, as experts warn of overcrowding on the world's highest peak.
From Barron's ● May 22, 2026
On the course, there are two ascents on skis plus sections on foot, and two descents.
From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2026
Over the next few years he pulled off even more impressive ascents in Alaska, Canada, and Europe.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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.
