1
a
: degree or measure of succeeding
b
: favorable or desired outcome
also
: the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence
2
: one that succeeds
Examples of success in a Sentence
An enormous popular and critical success, The Liars' Club was credited with (or blamed for) launching a new wave of memoir-writing. (Karr deflects this accusation: "I think memoir started with St. Augustine," she told Salon in 1997.)
—
Mollie Wilson O'Reilly, Commonweal, 23 Oct. 2009
Fred tries to keep up his end of the conversation, but without much success; he has never grown bulbs, cooked veal, seen a film by Fassbinder, etc. He feels provincial and out of it …
—Alison Lurie, Foreign Affairs, 2006
Since I was interested in finding out about the successes as well as the failures disabled women experience in the world, I interviewed women who had some work experience, although it was often part-time work and sometimes interrupted.
—Mary Grimley Mason, Working Against Odds, 2004
The necessaries of life for man in this climate may, accurately enough, be distributed under the several heads of Food, Shelter, Clothing, and Fuel; for not till we have secured these are we prepared to entertain the true problems of life with freedom and a prospect of success.
—Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854
Success came easily to him.
She is country music's most recent success.
The growth of the tourism industry is one of the city's great successes.
Mollie Wilson O'Reilly, Commonweal, 23 Oct. 2009
Fred tries to keep up his end of the conversation, but without much success; he has never grown bulbs, cooked veal, seen a film by Fassbinder, etc. He feels provincial and out of it …
—Alison Lurie, Foreign Affairs, 2006
Since I was interested in finding out about the successes as well as the failures disabled women experience in the world, I interviewed women who had some work experience, although it was often part-time work and sometimes interrupted.
—Mary Grimley Mason, Working Against Odds, 2004
The necessaries of life for man in this climate may, accurately enough, be distributed under the several heads of Food, Shelter, Clothing, and Fuel; for not till we have secured these are we prepared to entertain the true problems of life with freedom and a prospect of success.
—Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854
Success came easily to him.
She is country music's most recent success.
The growth of the tourism industry is one of the city's great successes.
Recent Examples on the Web
Your success may depend on working through self-worth issues.
—Usa Today, USA Today, 28 Sep. 2025
The Center played a critical role in drafting Arizona's law and has pointed to it as a big success.
—Taylor Seely, AZCentral.com, 27 Sep. 2025
In the following years, Citarella launched a Twitch stream, wrote op-eds about online politics for the Guardian, and put out a podcast under his own name which became a modest success.
—Chris Wiley, New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2025
This year, Texas artisans were particularly honored as part of the Heritage Craft Prize, with Scott sponsoring a prize for the finalists in hopes of supporting growth and success.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 27 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for success
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Usa Today, USA Today, 28 Sep. 2025
The Center played a critical role in drafting Arizona's law and has pointed to it as a big success.
—Taylor Seely, AZCentral.com, 27 Sep. 2025
In the following years, Citarella launched a Twitch stream, wrote op-eds about online politics for the Guardian, and put out a podcast under his own name which became a modest success.
—Chris Wiley, New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2025
This year, Texas artisans were particularly honored as part of the Heritage Craft Prize, with Scott sponsoring a prize for the finalists in hopes of supporting growth and success.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 27 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for success
Cite this Entry
“Success.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/success. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
success
noun
suc·cess
sək-ˈses 
1
a
: degree or measure of succeeding
b
: satisfactory completion of something
c
: the gaining of wealth, respect, or fame
2
: a person or thing that succeeds
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share