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# ambition

noun (an ambition, ambitions; also uncountable ambition)

«ambition» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A strong wish to do or become something special, like a big goal for the future. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/ambition/#m1)
2. The drive to be successful, powerful or rich; when there is too much of it, it can make people selfish. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/ambition/#m2)

### In the lessons

Used in everyday life and school when talking about dreams and goals ("My ambition is to be a vet"). In stories it can be good (a hero's ambition) or dangerous (a villain's greedy ambition, as in Macbeth). Phrases: life's ambition, lifelong ambition, achieve an ambition, full of ambition, lack of ambition.

### Examples

- My ambition is to play football for my country. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/ambition/#x1)
- Her lifelong ambition was to visit Australia. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/ambition/#x2)
- He finally achieved his ambition of climbing the mountain. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/ambition/#x3)
- The teacher said our class is full of ambition. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/ambition/#x4)
- The king's ambition made him cruel to his people. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/ambition/#x5)
- Write about your greatest ambition in your diary. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/ambition/#x6)
- Too much ambition can make you forget your friends. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/ambition/#x7)
- So at last Jack's ambition was satisfied. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/ambition/#x8)

### Note

Countable for a particular goal (my ambitions), uncountable for the quality (she has a lot of ambition). Adjective: ambitious (an ambitious plan). Starts with a vowel sound, so "an ambition". Not always positive: "blind ambition" is a warning.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «ambition» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/ambition/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«ambition» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/ambition.html) on Mova free.