Definitions for ambition
æmˈbɪʃ ənam·bi·tion

Princeton's WordNet(3.50 / 4 votes)Rate this definition:

1. ambition, aspiration, dreamnoun

   a cherished desire

   "his ambition is to own his own business"

2. ambition, ambitiousnessverb

   a strong drive for success

3. ambitionverb

   have as one's ambition

Wiktionary(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. ambitionnoun

   Eager or inordinate desire for some object that confers distinction, as preferment, honor, superiority, political power, or literary fame; desire to distinguish one's self from other people.

   Etymology: From ambicion, from ambition, from ambitio, from ambio. See ambient, issue.

2. ambitionnoun

   An object of an ardent desire.

   My ambition is to own a helicopter.

   Etymology: From ambicion, from ambition, from ambitio, from ambio. See ambient, issue.

3. ambitionnoun

   A desire, as in (sense 1), for another person to achieve these things.

   Etymology: From ambicion, from ambition, from ambitio, from ambio. See ambient, issue.

4. ambitionnoun

   A personal quality similar to motivation, not necessarily tied to a single goal.

   Etymology: From ambicion, from ambition, from ambitio, from ambio. See ambient, issue.

5. ambitionverb

   To seek after ambitiously or eagerly; to covet.

   Pausanias, ambitioning the sovereignty of Greece, bargains with Xerxes for his daughter in marriage. uE000106558uE001 Trumbull.

   Etymology: From ambicion, from ambition, from ambitio, from ambio. See ambient, issue.

Webster Dictionary(3.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Ambitionnoun

   the act of going about to solicit or obtain an office, or any other object of desire; canvassing

   Etymology: [F. ambition, L. ambitio a going around, especially of candidates for office is Rome, to solicit votes (hence, desire for office or honor), fr. ambire to go around. See Ambient, Issue.]

2. Ambitionnoun

   an eager, and sometimes an inordinate, desire for preferment, honor, superiority, power, or the attainment of something

   Etymology: [F. ambition, L. ambitio a going around, especially of candidates for office is Rome, to solicit votes (hence, desire for office or honor), fr. ambire to go around. See Ambient, Issue.]

3. Ambitionverb

   to seek after ambitiously or eagerly; to covet

   Etymology: [F. ambition, L. ambitio a going around, especially of candidates for office is Rome, to solicit votes (hence, desire for office or honor), fr. ambire to go around. See Ambient, Issue.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Ambition

   am-bish′un, n. the desire of power, honour, fame, excellence.—n. Ambi′tionist (Carlyle), an ambitious man.—adj. Ambi′tious, full of ambition (with of, formerly for): strongly desirous of anything—esp. power: aspiring: indicating ambition: showy or pretentious.—adv. Ambi′tiously.—n. Ambi′tiousness. [Fr.—L. ambition-em, the going about—that is, the canvassing for votes practised by candidates for office in Rome—ambi, about, and īre, itum, to go.]

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. ambition

   In a military sense, signifies a desire of greater posts or honors. Every person in the army or navy ought to have a spirit of emulation to arrive at the very summit of the profession by his personal merit.

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. ambition

   Song lyrics by ambition -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by ambition on the Lyrics.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Desire

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'ambition' in Nouns Frequency: #1648

How to pronounce ambition?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say ambition in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of ambition in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of ambition in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of ambition in a Sentence

1. Francois De La Rochefoucauld:

   What seems to be generosity is often no more than disguised ambition, which overlooks a small interest in order to secure a great one.

2. Waltraud Schelkle:

   It's a bit of an outsider sport, it shows she had a certain self-discipline, ambition, and toughness at an early age.

3. Roberto Martinez to harness:

   It's been two years to try and understand these footballers, the human beings behind the footballers, and to try and get a group that shared the same ambition, not just to use the national team to improve their brand, we've strived to be as good as we could be at international level and it's taken us two years to get there. But there haven't been one or two secrets to make it work, it's been common sense.

4. Ilie Nastase:

   My ambition is to do a good job. I never plan anything. (running for mayor of Bucharest, Romania)

5. Marcus Aurelius:

   Who exactly are these people that you want to be admired by? Aren’t they the same people you are in the habit of calling crazy? And is this your life ambition, then – to win the approval of lunatics?

Images & Illustrations of ambition

Popularity rank by frequency of use