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
Satellite television brought a plethora of choice into the living room, Western brands began to appear in shops and, for a burgeoning middle class, the definition of success was suddenly rewritten.
—Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 9 Nov. 2025
Emma Burleigh is a reporter at Fortune, covering success, careers, entrepreneurship, and personal finance.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 9 Nov. 2025
The work accomplished at Silent Swarm 2025, along with technology such as the TEEMS device, illustrates how the company is architecting the advantage for today’s performance and tomorrow’s success along the tactical edge.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 9 Nov. 2025
His work amid the injury woes could make a case for a postseason assistant coach of the year award, and Kyle Shanahan has an argument for the head coaching version of the honor given the 49ers’ success despite losing so many players.
—Pueng Vongs, Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for success
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 9 Nov. 2025
Emma Burleigh is a reporter at Fortune, covering success, careers, entrepreneurship, and personal finance.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 9 Nov. 2025
The work accomplished at Silent Swarm 2025, along with technology such as the TEEMS device, illustrates how the company is architecting the advantage for today’s performance and tomorrow’s success along the tactical edge.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 9 Nov. 2025
His work amid the injury woes could make a case for a postseason assistant coach of the year award, and Kyle Shanahan has an argument for the head coaching version of the honor given the 49ers’ success despite losing so many players.
—Pueng Vongs, Mercury News, 8 Nov. 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 14 Nov. 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
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