attainment
Americannoun
-
attainments
plural
-
an act of attaining.
-
something attained; a personal acquirement; achievement.
- Synonyms:
- accomplishment
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of attainment
First recorded in 1350–1400, attainment is from the Middle English word attenement. See attain, -ment
Explanation
The effort put into something and the pay-off when the work is over is called attainment. Attainment of your goal of learning to make the perfect omelet requires breaking a lot of eggs. An attainment isn't just handed to you — you have to earn it through skill and hard work. In fact, in slang, attainment is used interchangeably with skill. You might say that the inventiveness and originality of a particular rapper is his attainment, just as his fame, fortune, and respect in the hip-hop community is also his attainment.
Vocabulary lists containing attainment
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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:
It's a similar picture at Higher level with the ASN attainment gap being 6.2 percentage points.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Figures released earlier this year showed that the attainment gap between Scotland's richest and poorest school pupils remains wider than it was before the pandemic.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
These populations are more likely to suffer from chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity, and face socioeconomic barriers like lower educational attainment and less access to quality healthcare.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
Despite higher levels of educational attainment than previous generations, middle-aged Americans showed declines in episodic memory.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 14, 2026
Rather than channel his abilities into the attainment of awards and prizes, however, Gellert Grindelwald devoted himself to other pursuits.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
Such moments remind us that The Beatles’ attainments were the result of spirited collaboration involving a like-minded group of dedicated artists, producers, and engineers.
From Salon ● Nov. 21, 2025
"I am very serious about my education, and my educational attainments."
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2023
Majorities across the city support the vaccine requirement, including 86 percent of White residents, 63 percent of Black residents, majorities across different age groups, income levels, educational attainments and across wards.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 15, 2022
For all his attainments, though, Roth remained forever a younger sibling; the family darling with an underwear drawer so beautifully arrayed his mother led her mah-jongg group on a tour of it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 2, 2021
As a result, their attainments in astronomical theory seem to have paled in comparison to their achievements in engineering, medicine, and statecraft.
From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro
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.
