# accomplishment

Pronunciation: say "uh-KOM-plish-muhnt" US /əˈkɑm.plɪʃ.mənt/, UK /əˈkɒm.plɪʃ.mənt/

## Noun

1. A thing that has been done successfully; an achievement reached through effort.
   - Simple: Something you have done well and can feel proud of.
   - _Landing the contract was considered a major accomplishment by the whole team._
   - _Among her scientific accomplishments, the vaccine breakthrough is the most celebrated._
2. The act of accomplishing something; the completion or fulfillment of a task or goal.
   - Simple: The act of finishing a task or reaching a goal.
   - _The accomplishment of such a difficult mission required years of careful planning._
   - _Completion of the treaty marked the accomplishment of decades of diplomacy._
3. A refined skill or polished quality (such as music, drawing, or graceful manners) acquired through education or training.
   - Simple: A fine skill or quality that someone gains through education or training.
   - _He regarded fluent French as the mark of a cultivated accomplishment._
   - _A genteel education aimed to give young women accomplishments like music and embroidery._
4. The aspectual class of verbs or predicates that describe a process unfolding over time toward a natural, built-in endpoint, such as 'build a house' or 'draw a circle'.
   - Simple: A type of verb meaning that shows an action taking time and then reaching a natural end.
   - _Unlike an activity such as 'run', an accomplishment like 'paint a portrait' has a definite culmination._
   - _Verbs classed as accomplishments take time to unfold yet entail a clear terminal point._

## Origin

First attested in the early 15th century, from accomplish + -ment, and borrowed from French accomplissement, from accomplir. The sense of completing, perfecting, or equipping is first attested around 1600.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/accomplishment (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).