vocation

American  

[voh-key-shuhn] / voʊˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

• vocations
  plural

1. a particular occupation, business, or profession; calling.

   Synonyms:

   pursuit, employment

2. a strong impulse or inclination to follow a particular activity or career.

3. a divine call to God's service or to the Christian life.

4. a function or station in life to which one is called by God.

   the religious vocation; the vocation of marriage.

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vocation British  

/ vəʊˈkeɪʃən /

noun

1. a specified occupation, profession, or trade

2. 1. a special urge, inclination, or predisposition to a particular calling or career, esp a religious one

   2. such a calling or career

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• vocations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of vocation

1400–50; late Middle English vocacio ( u ) n < Latin vocātiōn- (stem of vocātiō ) a call, summons, equivalent to vocāt ( us ) past participle of vocāre to call ( see -ate ¹) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

Unless you can find someone to pay you to sip fancy tropical drinks on the beach, your vocation is not likely to be a vacation. Rather, the word means something you know how to do––or what you do for a living. The word vocation derives from the Latin vocare "to call." To become a priest, you need to feel that you have been "called" to the ministry directly by God. Their job is their calling, or vocation. An avocation is something you do because you love it. Everyone should make it their goal to have their avocation become their vocation.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vocation vocations

Like Mr. Barnett, she draws a throughline from her experience as a young reader to her vocation as a writer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

“It’s been very difficult because we are filmmakers by vocation, but we are businesspeople by necessity,” said Arturo.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026

For someone whose primary vocation lies in one of the Olympics' most niche sports, it was an unlikely position to be in.

From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026

Instead, the danger seems to be in hospitals, where people are suffering or dying, surrounded by doctors who could help them but are afraid that doing so will risk their freedom or vocation.

From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026

He’d come to his vocation as if driven ineluctably; he had never formed the intention of being sheriff, yet, to his astonishment, here he was.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

Because even those who believe in no religion at all have a stake in others’ freedom to pursue their vocations and do good works.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 22, 2025

Affluent families often paid a skilled artisan to train their children in well-paid, rewarding vocations.

From Slate ● Nov. 20, 2024

Asia Pacific is one of only a few places in the world where the Catholic Church is growing in terms of baptised faithful and religious vocations.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2024

In his 2023 Faith and Law presentation, Simon offered “a brief framework on how Christians could and should engage with the distinctive tensions within vocations in law, policy, and associated disciplines.”

From Salon ● Mar. 7, 2024

My father would not have believed in the possibility of sub-rosa vocations.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee