success

See also: Success

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin successus, from succēdō (“succeed”), from sub- (“next to”) + cēdō (“go, move”).

Pronunciation
  • (UK, US) IPA(key): /səkˈsɛs/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛs

Noun

success (countable and uncountable, plural successes)

  1. (obsolete) Something which happens as a consequence; the outcome or result. [16th-18th c.]
    • 1644, John Milton, Aeropagitica:
      I suppose them as at the beginning of no meane endeavour, not a little alter'd and mov'd inwardly in their mindes: Some with doubt of what will be the successe, others with fear of what will be the censure; some with hope, others with confidence of what they have to speake.
  2. The achievement of one's aim or goal. [from 16th c.]
    His third attempt to pass the entrance exam was a success.
    Antonym: failure
  3. (business) Financial profitability.
    Don't let success go to your head.
  4. One who, or that which, achieves assumed goals.
    Scholastically, he was a success.
    The new range of toys has been a resounding success.
  5. The fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect, or fame.
    She is country music's most recent success.

Derived terms
Terms derived from success

Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked

Further reading
  • success in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
  • success in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
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