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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Byrd and Igloo: A Polar Adventure
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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:
She added that the "persistence" of the attainment gap was "a huge concern as well as a huge challenge".
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
By examining trends in educational attainment, labor force shifts and the effects of social media and AI, it can offer a grand-scale picture of societal health.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
For young workers, studies have found the scars from missing a vital period of career attainment and network-building can last for years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 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
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
With 900 million of the world's professionals registering their personal CV and career attainments on the site, LinkedIn has become a valuable resource for head-hunters and human resources departments.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2023
And chief among those, of course, were his musical attainments, which, in many ways, remain unparalleled.
From Salon ● Feb. 25, 2023
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
It demands that no fortunate group should ever claim, by virtue of its position or its educational attainments, the unchallenged right to impose its will on others.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 27, 2017
Their educational attainments were noted, marriages followed, illnesses tabulated, psychological health charted, and every promotion and job change dutifully recorded.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
