ambition
ambition
noun
/æmˈbɪʃn/
1 countable something that you want to do or achieve very much
She had fulfilled her lifelong ambition.
His burning ambition was to study medicine.
political/artistic/career ambitions
At last he had realized his life's ambition.
He had only one ambition in life.
the country's nuclear ambitions (= plans to develop nuclear weapons)
ambition of being/doing something She never achieved her ambition of becoming a famous writer.
TOPICS Success B1
Collocations
adjective
big
burning
driving
verb + ambition
cherish
​harbor
have
2 uncountable the desire or strength of mind to be successful, rich, powerful, etc.
She was driven by personal ambition.
She was intelligent but suffered from a lack of ambition.
TOPICS Success B1
Collocations
adjective
driving
great
naked
verb + ambition
have
lack
ambition + verb
burn
Word Origin
Middle English: via Old French from Latin ambitio(n-), from ambire ‘go around (canvassing for votes)’.