/ æmˈbɪʃn; NAmE / noun ambition (to be / do sth) | ambition (of being / doing sth)
1.
[ C ] something that you want to do or achieve very much :
She never achieved her ambition of becoming a famous writer.
His burning ambition was to study medicine.
It had been her lifelong ambition .
political / literary / sporting ambitions
2.
[ U ] the desire or determination to be successful, rich, powerful, etc. :
motivated by personal ambition
She was intelligent but suffered from a lack of ambition.
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : via Old French from Latin ambitio(n-) , from ambire go around (canvassing for votes).