Why is it der Ehrgeiz?

No ending, compound or meaning rule gives away the article of Ehrgeiz, so learn the two together: der Ehrgeiz.

Sense 1
der

Meaning

[1] Striving for success

[1] starkes Streben nach Erfolg

Examples

[1] His ambition was already pathologically exaggerated

[1] Sein Ehrgeiz war schon krankhaft übertrieben.

[1] "Shiffrin knows how to hide this ambition"

[1] „Diesen Ehrgeiz weiß Shiffrin gut zu verstecken.“
More source examples (1)

These dictionary examples can include historical and less common uses.

[1] "The view that contempt could face him, let Darwin freeze, on the other hand he was burning before ambition"

[1] „Die Aussicht, es könnte ihm Verachtung entgegenschlagen, ließ Darwin erstarren, andererseits brannte er vor Ehrgeiz.“

Declension

1 Singular Plural
Nominativ der Ehrgeiz —
Genitiv des Ehrgeizes —
Dativ dem Ehrgeiz dem Ehrgeize —
Akkusativ den Ehrgeiz —

Pronunciation

Dictionary entries include material from Wiktionary. Wiktionary