Meaning & use
high achiever
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A person who consistently reaches a very high standard in school, work or sport, often exceeding what others manage.
Grammar: Has a plural: high achievers. Often followed by in or at a field.
Patterns
- a high achiever in something
- a high achiever at something
Maya was a high achiever who finished top of her class every year.
The company tries to hire high achievers who like a challenge.
Being a high achiever can make people afraid of failing.
Word forms
| plural | high achievers |
|---|
Common combinations
- a natural high achiever
- He is a natural high achiever and rarely needs to be pushed.
- academic high achiever
- The scholarship is for academic high achievers from low-income families.
- a driven high achiever
- She was a driven high achiever who studied until midnight.
- identify high achievers
- Teachers can identify high achievers early and give them harder work.
- high achievers in the workplace
- High achievers in the workplace often take on extra projects.
Synonyms and how they differ
- overachiever
- Overachiever suggests someone who does more than expected and is sometimes mildly mocked for it, while high achiever is neutral or admiring.
- star performer
- Star performer is common in business and describes someone outstanding in one job, not a general habit of success.
- go-getter
- Go-getter stresses energy and ambition rather than the results actually achieved.
- straight-A student
- Straight-A student is narrower, referring only to school grades in American usage.
Opposites
Word family
- achieve verb
- to succeed in reaching a goal
- achievement noun
- something accomplished through effort
- achiever noun
- a person who achieves
- high-achieving adjective
- regularly reaching a high standard
- achievable adjective
- possible to reach
Commonly confused: high achiever or overachiever?
high achiever vs overachiever
An overachiever does better than expected given their ability, and the word can sound slightly critical. A high achiever simply achieves at a high level.
Practice
Anita has always been a ____: she earns top marks and also leads the debate club.
Choose one answer.
A high achiever is someone who reaches a very high standard, which fits top marks and leadership. The other options do not describe success.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “high achiever”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.