successful
adjective
suc·cess·ful
sək-ˈses-fəl 
1
: resulting or terminating in success
a successful attempt
2
: gaining or having gained success
a successful investor
successfulness
noun
Examples of successful in a Sentence
the play had a successful run on Broadway
sold their successful dry-cleaning business and retired to Hawaii
Recent Examples on the Web
If successful, Angry Tortoise could become a blueprint for a new class of affordable hypersonic systems designed to demonstrate speed and be built, stored, and deployed at scale.
—
Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 29 Sep. 2025
Caltrans proposed the highway through the predominantly Black and brown neighborhood, but residents were successful in pushing off the freeway’s construction.
—Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Sep. 2025
Duties include building a successful practice of deepening client relationships, along with advising clients on brokerage activity.
—Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Sep. 2025
Venturini Fendi’s last collection was shown in Milan last week for spring 2026, a colorful, crafty and fun ready-to-wear lineup and new highly embellished versions of some of the most successful accessories for the brand, including the Baguette and the Peekaboo.
—Luisa Zargani, Footwear News, 29 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for successful
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 29 Sep. 2025
Caltrans proposed the highway through the predominantly Black and brown neighborhood, but residents were successful in pushing off the freeway’s construction.
—Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Sep. 2025
Duties include building a successful practice of deepening client relationships, along with advising clients on brokerage activity.
—Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Sep. 2025
Venturini Fendi’s last collection was shown in Milan last week for spring 2026, a colorful, crafty and fun ready-to-wear lineup and new highly embellished versions of some of the most successful accessories for the brand, including the Baguette and the Peekaboo.
—Luisa Zargani, Footwear News, 29 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for successful
Cite this Entry
“Successful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/successful. Accessed 3 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
successful
adjective
suc·cess·ful
sək-ˈses-fəl
1
: resulting or ending in success
2
: gaining or having gained success
successfulness
noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share