gumption
Americannoun
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initiative; aggressiveness; resourcefulness.
With his gumption he'll make a success of himself.
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courage; spunk; guts.
It takes gumption to quit a high-paying job.
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Chiefly British Dialect. common sense; shrewdness.
noun
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common sense or resourcefulness
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initiative or courage
you haven't the gumption to try
Other Word Forms
- gumptionless adjective
- gumptious adjective
Etymology
Origin of gumption
1710–20; originally Scots
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.
That takes creativity, intelligence and gumption, and I’m sure your grandfather has those in spades.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 24, 2026
But the strange thing is that there’s another significant factor that will determine the outcome this weekend, and this one is the polar opposite of guts and gumption.
From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 26, 2025
Jamie Greene appeared at Murdo Fraser's campaign launch, telling the audience he was the only candidate with the "gumption" to turn things around for the party.
From BBC • Aug. 22, 2024
Lee however remained undeterred by her illness and summoned the gumption and self-confidence to return to the mat after a brief hiatus, brushing aside the narrowly construed frameworks of athleticism.
From Salon • Aug. 10, 2024
In fact, she’d be pleased to think that I had that much gumption, that much of her in my character.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
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.
