noun

ambition

am-BIHSH-uhn

noun

A strong desire to achieve success, power, or a particular goal.

"Her ambition was to become a surgeon by the age of thirty."

"The company's ambition is to double revenue within five years."

A specific goal or objective that someone wants to achieve.

"Running a marathon had always been one of his ambitions."

How to Use Ambition

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA strong drive to succeed or reach a goal, or the goal itself.

Common pairings

lifelong ambition lack ambition fulfil an ambition burning ambition

ambitioned past tense, ambitions plural, ambitions singular

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Her _____ was to become a surgeon by the age of thirty.

From Latin ambitio, literally "a going around" — originally describing candidates in Rome canvassing for votes.

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