ambition

1 of 2

noun

am·​bi·​tion am-ˈbi-shən How to pronounce ambition (audio)
1
a
: an ardent desire for rank, fame, or power
With her talent and fierce ambition, she became a very successful actress.
b
: desire to achieve a particular end
2
: the object of ambition
Her ambition is to start her own business.
3
US : a desire for activity or exertion
felt sick and had no ambition
ambitionless adjective

ambition

2 of 2

verb

ambitioned; ambitioning; ambitions

transitive verb

: to have as one's ambition : desire

Did you know?

Ambition Has Roots in Roman Politics

When candidates for public office in ancient Rome wanted to be elected, they had to do just what modern candidates must do. They had to spend most of their time going around the city urging the citizens to vote for them. The Latin word for this effort was ambitio, which came from ambire, a verb meaning “to go around.” Since this activity was caused by a desire for honor or power, the word eventually came to mean “the desire for honor or power.” This word came into French and English as ambition in the late Middle Ages. Later its meaning broadened to include “an admirable desire for advancement or improvement” and still later “the object of this desire.”

Choose the Right Synonym for ambition

ambition, aspiration, pretension mean strong desire for advancement.

ambition applies to the desire for personal advancement or preferment and may suggest equally a praiseworthy or an inordinate desire.

driven by ambition

aspiration implies a striving after something higher than oneself.

an aspiration to become president someday

pretension suggests ardent desire for recognition of accomplishment often without actual possession of the necessary ability and therefore may imply presumption.

has literary pretensions

Examples of ambition in a Sentence

Noun My first ambition as a child was to be in the circus. He lacked ambition and couldn't compete with the others.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The ambitions signal automakers’ emphasis on innovation will continue even in the face of an uncertain consumer demand outlook. Bloomberg, Fortune Asia, 10 Mar. 2024 This move of giving brands and advertisers an easier portal into every segment of the site is another stab at those ambitions. Boone Ashworth, WIRED, 9 Mar. 2024 The spinoff is said to have a significantly bigger budget, with ambitions to reach an audience beyond the Philippines. Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Mar. 2024 Reznor took this ambition further still: Individual songs are punctuated by hard-tack changes of direction—from fast, thrashing guitars and punishing drum beats, to moments of slow-burning ambient and piano interludes—becoming the sound of a mind at war with itself. Adam Steiner, SPIN, 8 Mar. 2024 But meeting both their zero-emissions pledges and their AI innovation ambitions is becoming increasingly complicated as the energy needs of their data centers grow. Evan Halper, Washington Post, 7 Mar. 2024 Meanwhile, Wall Street started to turn on legacy media companies including Disney, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, which had sacrificed traditional television and box office revenue to fuel their streaming ambitions. Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 7 Mar. 2024 Hussein’s ambitions went far beyond defending Zaydism. Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 5 Mar. 2024 Season 8 feels like a monument to flawed ambition and flailing Peak TV decadence, all massive battle scenes and brainless strategy. Darren Franich, EW.com, 29 Feb. 2024
Verb
But the Kushners’ empire, like Trump’s, was underwritten by years of dealing in much more modestly ambitioned properties. Alec MacGillis/propublica, New York Times, 23 May 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ambition.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English ambicioun, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French ambicion, borrowed from Latin ambitiōn-, ambitiō "act of soliciting for votes, running for public office, striving after popularity, desire for advancement," from ambīre "to encircle, visit in rotation, solicit (political support), seek to obtain" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at ambient entry 1

Verb

derivative of ambition entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1601, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ambition was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near ambition

Cite this Entry

“Ambition.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ambition. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

ambition

noun
am·​bi·​tion
am-ˈbish-ən
1
a
: an eager desire for social standing, fame, or power
b
: desire to achieve a particular goal : aspiration
2
: the particular goal of ambition
Etymology

Noun

Middle English ambition "desire for power," from early French ambition (same meaning), derived from Latin ambire "to go around," from ambi- "around" and ire "to go"

Word Origin
When political candidates in ancient Rome wanted to be elected, they had to do what modern candidates must do. They had to spend their time going around the city urging the citizens to vote for them. The Latin word for this effort was ambitio, which came from ambire, a verb meaning "to go around." Since this "ambition" was caused by a desire for honor or power, the word eventually came to mean "the desire for honor or power." This word came into French and English as ambition in the late Middle Ages. Later its meaning broadened to include "an admirable desire for advancement or improvement" and still later "the object of this desire."

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