Success means achieving something you set out to do. When you study hard for a spelling test and get all the words right, that's success. When a basketball team practices together and wins the championship, they've achieved success. When a scientist spends years testing a hypothesis and finally proves it correct, that's success too.

Success looks different depending on what you're trying to accomplish. Learning to ride a bike is a success. So is memorizing your times tables, building a treehouse that doesn't collapse, or finally mastering that tricky piano piece you've been practicing for months. For a chef, success might be opening a popular restaurant. For an inventor, it might be creating something that helps people solve a problem.

Notice that success usually requires effort and persistence. Quick wins feel good, but the successes that matter most come after setbacks, practice, and determination. Thomas Edison tried thousands of materials before finding one that worked for his light bulb filament. Each failed attempt taught him something, and his eventual success changed the world.

Success means setting a goal that matters to you and working until you reach it. A student who struggles with reading but improves from a second-grade to a fourth-grade level experiences real success, even if they're not the strongest reader in class yet. The word can also describe a person or thing that achieves its goal: a successful business, a successful expedition, or a successful author.