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
Her success spawned a second outlet in Indiana but her new venture in Disney World is the most breathtaking.
—Caroline Reid, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024
While helping grow the local collector base and a steady increase in its membership are important signs of success, Lacy said another indicator of Early Work’s impact would be several successful relationships between members.
—Karen K. Ho, ARTnews.com, 25 Oct. 2024
In 2016, Trump was introduced by billionaire Tom Barrack, who talked about his longtime friend's business success.
—John Santucci, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2024
Following its success, the British artist shared her appreciation in a statement to her fans in June 2022.
—Ilana Kaplan, People.com, 25 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for success 
Caroline Reid, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024
While helping grow the local collector base and a steady increase in its membership are important signs of success, Lacy said another indicator of Early Work’s impact would be several successful relationships between members.
—Karen K. Ho, ARTnews.com, 25 Oct. 2024
In 2016, Trump was introduced by billionaire Tom Barrack, who talked about his longtime friend's business success.
—John Santucci, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2024
Following its success, the British artist shared her appreciation in a statement to her fans in June 2022.
—Ilana Kaplan, People.com, 25 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for success
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'success.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near success
Cite this Entry
“Success.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/success. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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
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