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 company’s ambition comes after a bruising few decades for American planemaking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
The Gryffindor must hone wisdom, the Hufflepuff courage, the Ravenclaw ambition and the Slytherin loyalty.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 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
Coming off a breakout 2025 during which she won World Cup golds in Astana and Delhi before becoming world champion in Liverpool, Lamboria is in Glasgow with an uncomplicated ambition.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
For them, the city represented something new under the Southern sun: a place where anyone could prosper, where ambition and hard work, not skin color, determined one’s chances for success or failure.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
For young people with similar ambitions, live entertainment could be a smart path to follow.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Gorgeous, accomplished wife who was induced to set her career aside for her husband’s ambitions?
From Salon ● Jul. 29, 2026
Risk could spread beyond Big Tech companies to the semiconductor businesses supplying the hardware behind their AI ambitions.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Both have big spending plans and big ambitions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
For thousands of years, as civilizations waxed and waned, these three art forms—painting, sculpture, and architecture—embodied the ambitions, dreams, and values of their cultures.
From "The Annotated Mona Lisa" by Carol Strickland and John Boswell
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.
