career
Americannoun
-
careers
plural
-
an occupation or profession, especially one requiring special training, followed as one's lifework.
He sought a career as a lawyer.
-
a person's progress or general course of action through life or through a phase of life, as in some profession or undertaking.
His career as a soldier ended with the armistice.
- Synonyms:
- livelihood, lifework, work, calling, vocation
-
success in a profession, occupation, etc.
-
a course, especially a swift one.
-
speed, especially full speed.
The horse stumbled in full career.
-
Archaic. a charge at full speed.
verb (used without object)
-
careers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
careered,
past participle, past
-
careering
present participle
adjective
noun
-
a path or progress through life or history
-
a profession or occupation chosen as one's life's work
-
(modifier) having or following a career as specified
a career diplomat
-
a course or path, esp a swift or headlong one
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
careersimple
-
careerssimple
-
have careeredperfect
-
has careeredperfect
-
am careeringprogressive
-
are careeringprogressive
-
is careeringprogressive
-
have been careeringperfect progressive
-
has been careeringperfect progressive
Past
-
careeredsimple
-
had careeredperfect
-
was careeringprogressive
-
were careeringprogressive
-
had been careeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of career
First recorded in 1525–35; from Middle French carriere, from Old Provençal carriera, literally, “road,” from Late Latin carrāria (via) “vehicular (road),” equivalent to Latin carr(us) “wagon” ( see car 1) + -āria (feminine of -ārius -ary )
Explanation
You may have to take jobs as a dog walker, cat groomer, and fish feeder before you complete school for a career as a veterinarian. Small jobs in the short term give you experience for a long-term career. Career comes from the French carrière, from an older word for "street" or "road." Staying on track for a certain career is like driving a car in one direction on a road, instead of veering in different directions. Maybe the expression "career path" is helpful in remembering that a career is something that progresses, or moves forward on a set path. It can also be used as a verb to describe something moving quickly and uncontrollably, like a car careering into a ditch.
Vocabulary lists containing career
Can I Work It? Words for "Job"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Creativity at Work" and "The Hidden Secrets of the Creative Mind"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Academy Awards, List 5
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
False charges of AI cheating can tarnish academic records or upend career prospects of students.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
After his acting career, Kelker-Kelly became a professional pilot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
The composer often said that his musical career had been an accident, but nothing gave him greater joy than seeing his work come to life.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
This career move is going to give me space to put it behind me and not be reminded on a daily basis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
But hating them set him apart from the crowd—and that represented, for Greg Lippmann, a new career risk.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
They may act impulsively, be manipulative, or even outright lie to advance their careers - but how can you tell the difference between an unpleasant co-worker and someone displaying psychopathic traits?
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
Next came the Daytime Emmy-winning TV series “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” which ran from 1986 through 1990 and helped kick-start the careers of now well-known stars including Phil Hartman, Laurence Fishburne and S. Epatha Merkerson.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Some young adults’ experiences in the job market or the workplace have inspired them to transform their careers.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
"It's the icing on the cake of two great careers," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
She had not invited her few friends from college; they were bent on careers, this wasn't their thing.
From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin
Two systems that could have slowed an Amazon Air flight that crashed in Miami over the weekend weren’t deployed before the plane careered off a runway and crashed into nearby vehicles, investigators said late Tuesday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
In the latest incident in Leipzig, a Volkswagen Taigo car careered from a major square in the old town down a busy pedestrian zone, travelling hundreds of metres.
From Barron's ● May 4, 2026
"The jury and the organisers have decided to stop the race," they said as Austria's Nina Ortlieb and Marte Monsen of Norway had also careered off-piste.
From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026
It comes after an inquest found the deaths of four teenage boys could have been avoided when their car careered off a road during a camping trip in Wales last year.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2024
There was a loud splintering of shafts as the horse careered onwards, trailing in its wake reins, tracers and shattered timber.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
The accident, which saw the picture-postcard 19th-century Gloria tramway hurtle into a building after careering off the rails, shocked the Portuguese capital, laying bare fears over the safety of the popular yet ageing tourist attraction.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2025
The club doesn’t intend to keep careering ahead this way forever.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2025
Only after that point could turmoil begin: It was shattered by an impact and shifted outward to the asteroid belt, where subsequent impacts would have formed the Athor family and sent some careering toward Earth.
From Science Magazine ● Apr. 16, 2024
Early in the Premier League game between Sheffield United and Brighton last month, the Sheffield United defender Mason Holgate went careering into Kaoru Mitoma, Brighton’s dazzling winger.
From New York Times ● Mar. 1, 2024
To his astonishment and terror, and lasting delight, Sam saw a vast shape crash out of the trees and come careering down the slope.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
