ambition
Americannoun
-
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:
The new crop of self-made entrepreneurs moving into AI is real, and so is the ambition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Some have suggested that the government should set up a national care service in England, similar in ambition to the NHS.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Chief executive Pascal Soriot said the company was "on track" to deliver its ambition of $80 billion in total revenue by 2030, despite an unexpected late-stage trial failure earlier this month.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Debbie is a politician’s wife who sidelined her career aspirations to support his ambition to be Prime Minister.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
And through the Link, I can sense his earnestness, his burning ambition to do right, his desire to prove it to me.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
That is when the risk begins to extend beyond the megacap technology companies to the semiconductor businesses supplying the hardware behind their AI ambitions.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Some have already voiced ambitions to become Olympians or Paralympians.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
"That creates significant inequalities, because young people without family or professional networks are far more likely either to miss out altogether, or to end up in placements that aren't relevant to their ambitions."
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon had already flagged that they would fork out more than $700 billion this year on AI ambitions, and are due to report next week.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
For to men, freedom in their own land is the pinnacle of their ambitions, from which nothing can turn men of conviction aside.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
