Achievement Meaning
/əˈt͡ʃiːv.mənt/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounThe act of achieving or performing; a successful performance; accomplishment.
nounA great or heroic deed or feat; something accomplished by valor or boldness.
Sentence Examples
The manager complimented him on his achievement.
It is quite an achievement!
The greatest scientific achievement of the decade
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
Winning the gold medal was a remarkable ____ that required years of training.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Winning the Nobel Prize was the greatest ____ of his career.
Word Origin & History
From Middle French achevement (compare Modern French achèvement), from Old French achevement, from the verb achever, achiever (“to finish”); equivalent to achieve + -ment. The heraldic sense may be influenced by hatchment.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The original family who had begun to build a palace to rival Nonesuch had died out before they had put up little more than the gateway, so that the actual structure which had come down to posterity retained the secret magic of a promise rather than the overpowering splendour of a great architectural achievement."
— 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 1, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
"As to the type of seat preferred, the views were so varied that it was considered wisely that the ideal design was beyond achievement!"
— 1979 August, Graham Burtenshaw, Michael S. Welch, “O.V.S. Bulleid's SR loco-hauled coaches - 1”, in Railway World, page 397:
"Creating a complete map of the human connectome would therefore be a monumental milestone but not the end of the journey to understanding how our brains work. The achievement will transform neuroscience and serve as the starting point for asking questions we could not otherwise have answered, […]."
— 2012 March-April, Terrence J. Sejnowski, “Well-connected Brains”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, archived from the original on 27 Apr 2017, page 171:
"[The exploits] of the ancient saints ; they do far surpass the most famous achievements of pagan heroes."
— a. 1677, Isaac Barrow, edited by Abraham Hill and James Hamilton, The Works of Isaac Barrow, published 1845, Sermon xxxiv, Of Being Imitators of Christ, page 397:
"[…]the English genius was effecting in science a revolution which will, to the end of time, be reckoned among the highest achievements of the human intellect."
— c. 1837, Thomas Babington Macaulay, Minutes on the Education of India:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Winning the gold medal was a remarkable ____ that required years of training.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Winning the Nobel Prize was the greatest ____ of his career.