attainment
Americannoun
-
an act of attaining.
-
something attained; a personal acquirement; achievement.
- Synonyms:
- accomplishment
noun
Other Word Forms
- nonattainment noun
- reattainment noun
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.
But industries in which immigrants with low educational attainment are overrepresented have seen slower wage growth than the broader private sector since Trump took office, a Wall Street Journal analysis shows.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026
“The irony is that steadily rising education attainment, notably enjoyed by young Latina mothers, leads to bearing fewer children.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026
Nicola Sturgeon famously made eradicating the attainment gap her "top priority" back in 2016.
From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026
Places with heavier rap exposure didn’t experience higher crime, lower educational attainment or weaker labor-market outcomes relative to trends elsewhere.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 2, 2026
His chest heaved once, as if his large heart, weary of despotic constriction, had expanded, despite the will, and made a vigorous bound for the attainment of liberty.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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.
