a ‧ chieve ‧ ment S3 W2 AC /əˈtʃiːvmənt/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ achievement , ↑ achiever , ↑ underachiever ≠ OVERACHIEVER , ↑ underachievement ≠ OVERACHIEVEMENT ; verb : ↑ achieve , ↑ underachieve ≠ OVERACHIEVE ; adjective : ↑ achievable ]
1 . [countable] something important that you succeed in doing by your own efforts
achievement of
We try to celebrate the achievements of our students.
His great achievement is to make all the players into a united team.
sb’s achievement in (doing) something
The test measures children’s achievements in reading, spelling, and maths.
2 . [uncountable] when you achieve something or when people achieve something:
Roberts is researching the effect of social class on educational achievement.
As we climbed the final few metres, we felt a sense of achievement.
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COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ a great/fine/impressive achievement (=one that deserves to be admired)
Winning the award was a great achievement.
▪ a remarkable/extraordinary achievement (=one that is unusual or surprising and deserves praise)
In recognition of this remarkable achievement he was awarded the OBE.
▪ a major/important achievement
Writing the book was a major achievement.
▪ an outstanding achievement (=an extremely impressive achievement)
Eisenhower' s outstanding achievement was to avoid war.
▪ a considerable achievement (=one that has a large effect)
These studies represent a considerable achievement.
▪ sb’s crowning/supreme achievement (=the best of several impressive achievements)
Her appointment to the Paris post was the crowning achievement of her life.
■ verbs
▪ something represents an achievement (=something is an achievement)
Few people realised what an enormous achievement Concorde represented.
■ phrases
▪ be no mean achievement (=be difficult to achieve and therfore worth admiring)
He got the top mark in the country which is no mean achievement.
▪ be quite an achievement (=be an impressive achievement)
Working and bringing up kids on your own is quite an achievement.