# achievement

Pronunciation: say "uh-CHEEV-muhnt" /əˈt͡ʃiːv.mənt/

## Noun

1. The act of achieving or performing something successfully, or the accomplishment itself.
   - Simple: Something good that you finish or do well, often after hard work.
   - _Landing the contract was the team's biggest achievement of the year._
   - _Her academic achievements opened doors to several universities._
2. A great or heroic deed, especially one accomplished through courage or daring.
   - Simple: A brave or important act that takes great courage or skill.
   - _The expedition's safe return was hailed as a remarkable achievement._
   - _History remembers the general's achievements on the battlefield._
3. An award given in a video game for completing a particular task or meeting a set objective.
   - Simple: A reward you earn in a video game for finishing a task or reaching a goal.
   - _The game tracks every achievement you've unlocked across all platforms._
   - _Completionists chase rare achievements that few players ever earn._
4. The successful completion of a socially defined goal, highlighting what an individual or group has accomplished.
   - Simple: Reaching a goal that society sees as important, done by a person or group.
   - _Sociologists link educational achievement to family background and access to resources._
   - _The community celebrated the achievement of its long-term housing goal._
5. A full display of all the heraldic components a coat-of-arms bearer is entitled to; now especially a funeral shield, or hatchment.
   - Simple: A full picture of all the parts of a family's coat of arms.
   - _The herald painted the complete achievement, including crest, shield, supporters, and motto._
   - _After the duke died, his achievement was displayed above the manor gate._
6. A category of verb or predicate in lexical aspect describing events that change state in an instant.
   - Simple: A type of verb that describes a change finishing in a single instant.
   - _Linguists classify 'arrive' as an achievement, since the event culminates instantaneously._
   - _Unlike activities, achievements have a built-in endpoint reached in a single moment._

## Origin

From Middle French achevement, from Old French achevement, based on the verb achever ("to finish"); it is equivalent to "achieve" plus the suffix "-ment." The heraldic sense may have been influenced by "hatchment."

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