success
Americannoun
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the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors; the accomplishment of one's goals.
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the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.
- Synonyms:
- triumph, accomplishment, achievement
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a performance or achievement that is marked by success, as by the attainment of honors.
The play was an instant success.
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a person or thing that has had success, as measured by attainment of goals, wealth, etc..
She was a great success on the talk show.
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Obsolete. outcome.
noun
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the favourable outcome of something attempted
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the attainment of wealth, fame, etc
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an action, performance, etc, that is characterized by success
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a person or thing that is successful
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obsolete any outcome
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonsuccessnoun
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presuccessnoun
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successlessnessnoun
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semisuccessadjective
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successlessadjective
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successlesslyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of success
First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin successus, equivalent to succēd-, stem of succēdere succeed + -tus suffix of verb action, with -dt- regularly becoming -ss-
Explanation
For some students, success in school means getting As and Bs. For others, it means getting straight As, starring in the school play, and winning the class election. Success means achieving a goal, and everyone's goals are different. We tend to think of success as a triumph or victory, but if you look at its linguistic roots in Latin, success literally just means "result." At some point several centuries ago people probably began using success as shorthand for "good success," and eventually they dropped the good altogether. That would explain why in formal settings you still occasionally hear the phrase "good success," even though we now think of all successes as good.
Vocabulary lists containing success
"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act I
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Commonly Misspelled Words, List 5
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"Kids Are Inventors, Too"
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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 success was surreal for the band members as they heard the song on the radio, in restaurants and the gym.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
The video prominently featured Zach Witkoff and two of the president’s sons, Don Jr. and Eric, extolling the success of their company.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
Gu and Lev judged an acquisition’s success or failure over the three-year period following a deal going through.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
Members of the Argentina team and backroom staff were involved in altercations with Spain players who had begun to celebrate their World Cup success.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
It was like the planets and the stars were aligning to ensure my success.
From "Liar, Liar" by Gary Paulsen
These successes for both the men's and women's teams followed lifting numerous titles at youth level over the last decade.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Some argue that latter case is already closed, given the competitiveness of Pogacar’s era and his range of successes in everything from grand tours to one-day flyers like Milan San Remo.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
To truly compete with SpaceX, China will need to refine its technology and ensure that its breakthrough launch is backed up by future successes.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
Inspired by successes in Asia, SEZs have seen rapid growth in Africa in recent years, with more than 230 in 2025, according to a study by the French Development Agency.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
The power is in the balance: we are our injuries, as much as we are our successes.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
