Noun

(en noun)

The act of achieving or performing; a successful performance; accomplishment

* {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham)

, title=(The China Governess) , chapter=1 citation , passage=The original family who had begun to build a palace to rival Nonesuch had died out before they had put up little more than the gateway, so that the actual structure which had come down to posterity retained the secret magic of a promise rather than the overpowering splendour of a great architectural achievement .}}

* {{quote-magazine, year=2012, month=March-April

, author= , title=Well-connected Brains , volume=100, issue=2, page=171 , magazine=(American Scientist) citation , passage=Creating a complete map of the human connectome would therefore be a monumental milestone but not the end of the journey to understanding how our brains work. The achievement will transform neuroscience and serve as the starting point for asking questions we could not otherwise have answered, […].}}

A great or heroic deed or feat; something accomplished by valor or boldness

* [The exploits] of the ancient saints do far surpass the most famous achievements of pagan heroes. - (Isaac Barrow)

* The highest achievements of the human intellect. - (Thomas Babington Macaulay)

(heraldry) An escutcheon or ensign armorial; now generally applied to the funeral shield commonly called hatchment.

(video games) An award for completing a particular task or meeting an objective in a video game.

Noun

(uncountable) The quality or state of being competent, i.e. able or suitable for a general role.

* 2005 , Lies Sercu and Ewa Bandura, Foreign Language Teachers and Intercultural Competence: An International Investigation :

Teachers are now required to teach intercultural communicative competence .

(countable) The quality or state of being able or suitable for a particular task; the quality or state of being competent for a particular task.

* 1961 , National Council for Elementary Science (U.S.), Science Education :

What professional competences do science teachers need?

A sustainable income.

* Alexander Pope

Reason's whole pleasure, all the joys of sense, / Lie in three words — health, peace, and competence .

* 1811 , Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility , chapter 17

“money can only give happiness where there is nothing else to give it. Beyond a competence , it can afford no real satisfaction, as far as mere self is concerned.”

(countable) In law, the legal authority to deal with a matter.

That question is out with the competence of this court and must be taken to a higher court.