1
a
: degree or measure of succeeding
promoted the new book with limited success
The success of wildlife sanctuaries depends on how people feel about them.—
Kathryn R. Satterfield
Kathryn R. Satterfield
b
: favorable or desired outcome
At Cedar Creek, the men who raise endangered frogs have a success rate much higher than … counterparts in zoos …—Beth Schwartzapfel
Beth Schwartzapfel
c
: the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence
Their success on the Olympic stage is a point of pride.—Will Graves
Will Graves2
: someone or something that succeeds
one of her many successes [=one of many things she has done successfully]
The play was an immediate success.
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
For cities and counties, population growth is universally seen as a metric that defines success.
—Christopher Briem, The Conversation, 12 June 2026
Investigation Discovery's Deadly Influence returns this summer to highlight how social media success can also be a breeding ground for deception and violence.
—Tabitha Parent, PEOPLE, 12 June 2026
Goldman bankers can point to the success of the SpaceX deal as part of their pitch to Anthropic and OpenAI as those companies prepare to come public.
—Jeff Marks, CNBC, 12 June 2026
Impeccably acted and paced, the film launched Wilder to success, paving the way for his future classics like The Seven Year Itch (1955) and Some Like It Hot (1959).
—Eric Farwell, Entertainment Weekly, 12 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for success
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Christopher Briem, The Conversation, 12 June 2026
Investigation Discovery's Deadly Influence returns this summer to highlight how social media success can also be a breeding ground for deception and violence.
—Tabitha Parent, PEOPLE, 12 June 2026
Goldman bankers can point to the success of the SpaceX deal as part of their pitch to Anthropic and OpenAI as those companies prepare to come public.
—Jeff Marks, CNBC, 12 June 2026
Impeccably acted and paced, the film launched Wilder to success, paving the way for his future classics like The Seven Year Itch (1955) and Some Like It Hot (1959).
—Eric Farwell, Entertainment Weekly, 12 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for success
Cite this Entry
“Success.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/success. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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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