achievement

achievement — noun

1. an impressive thing that you have managed to do, especially after long, hard wor

1.nounB1
Definition

an impressive thing that you have managed to do, especially after long, hard work or when facing real difficulty.

Example

Finishing the Tokyo Marathon at age seventy was Mr. Lin's proudest achievement.

noun phrase: somebody's proudest achievement

Building a clean water system for the village was a remarkable achievement for the small team.

collocation: a remarkable / great achievement

Common collocations
  • a great achievement
  • a major achievement
  • a remarkable achievement
  • personal achievement
  • lifetime achievement
  • academic achievement
Synonyms
  • accomplishment

    near-synonym; slightly more formal and often implies completion of a defined task.

  • feat

    stresses the difficulty or daring; usually for a single dramatic act.

  • triumph

    stronger and more emotional; suggests victory over real obstacles or rivals.

Antonyms
  • failure

    the opposite outcome — when the effort did not succeed.

  • setback

Grammar Patterns

a/an + great/major/remarkable + achievement

achievement of + noun

Usage Note

Subject is usually positive and effortful — 'achievement' carries praise. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense is countable and refers to the thing produced; sense 2 is uncountable and refers to the doing itself.

Common Mistakes

Winning the race was a achievement.
Winning the race was an achievement.
use 'an' before the vowel sound.
My son got an achievement in math.
My son had a real achievement in math.
you don't 'get' an achievement; you 'have', 'make', or 'reach' one.

2. the action of reaching a goal, finishing a task, or making something happen thro

2.nounB2
Definition

the action of reaching a goal, finishing a task, or making something happen through effort over time.

Example

The school measures pupils' achievement in reading every term.

uncountable: 'achievement in [subject]'

The achievement of world peace will require decades of patient diplomacy.

pattern: the achievement of + noun

Common collocations
  • academic achievement
  • high achievement
  • low achievement
  • the achievement of a goal
Synonyms
  • attainment

    very formal; common in policy and education writing.

  • accomplishment

    less formal; can also mean a single thing achieved.

  • success

    broader; success may come from luck, while 'achievement' implies effort.

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

the achievement of + noun

achievement in + noun

Usage Note

Uncountable in this sense — never 'an achievement' or 'achievements'. Often appears in formal or educational contexts (academic achievement, achievement in sport). Distinguish from sense 1, which names the thing done; this sense names the doing itself.

Common Mistakes

She had many achievement in school.
She had many achievements in school.
if you mean specific results, use the plural countable form (sense 1).

Word family

  • achieve
    verbB1
  • achiever
    nounB2
  • achievable
    adjectiveB2
  • underachievement
    nounC1
  • overachiever
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All five words describe something good that has been done, but they differ in tone and scope. 'Achievement' is the everyday word in both speech and writing, and it usually points to a result that took real effort, like passing an exam or building a business. 'Accomplishment' is close in meaning but feels slightly more formal and often refers to skills a person has developed, such as playing the violin. 'Feat' highlights physical or technical difficulty — climbing Everest is a feat, not just an achievement. 'Triumph' is emotional and suggests winning against opposition: 'a triumph over poverty.' 'Attainment' is the most formal and is common in policy or academic writing, often paired with 'level of attainment.' So you might say, 'Her attainment in mathematics is high, her piano accomplishments are admired, and finishing the marathon was a real feat — but her proudest achievement is raising three kind children.'

achievement ↗accomplishment ↗feat ↗triumph ↗attainment

Common collocations

Nouns

  • achievement gap
  • achievement test
  • achievement award
  • lifetime achievement

Phrases

  • sense of achievement
  • a feeling of achievement
  • high level of achievement

Prepositions

  • achievement of
  • achievement in

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishModern English

'Achievement' came into English in the late 1400s from the Old French 'achevement', meaning 'a finishing' or 'completion'. The French noun was built from the verb 'achever', 'to bring to a head', which itself grew from the phrase 'a chief' — literally 'to a head'. So at its root, an achievement is something carried all the way to its end point. The modern sense of 'an impressive thing somebody has done' developed gradually as English speakers used the word for the result, not just the act of finishing.