overachiever

[ oh-ver-uh-chee-ver ]

noun

1. a person who performs better or achieves more than people are generally expected to, often because of high ambition, pressure from family, etc.:

   Ever the overachiever, he reached his sales goal for the year a whopping five months early.

2. a person who performs, especially academically, above the potential indicated by tests of their mental ability or aptitude:

   We found many overachievers with modest SAT scores who nevertheless achieved high GPAs across a variety of majors.

Word History and Origins

Origin of overachiever¹

First recorded in 1935–40; over- ( def ) + achieve ( def ) + -er ¹( def )

Example Sentences

He could be a special adviser, coaxing the best out of overachievers like himself.

From Los Angeles Times

Mr. Cherry is best known for his role as the snarky overachiever Dylan in the dystopian Apple TV+ workplace thriller series “Severance.”

From New York Times

An overachiever with a resume to dwarf her husband’s, she can’t understand why she’s not president — or rather, she has grown tired of accepting the sexist reason.

From Los Angeles Times

Let’s bury the narrative that these Dawgs were a group of overachievers who didn’t belong in the same class as the country’s elite.

From Seattle Times

Union Berlin slumped to its 12th consecutive defeat, a 3-0 loss at home to Eintracht Frankfurt, that deepens the sense of crisis at the former overachiever.

From Washington Times