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career

[ kuh-reer ]

/ kəˈrɪər /

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See synonyms for: career / careered / careering / careers on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.

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)

to run or move rapidly along; go at full speed.

adjective

having or following a career; professional: a career diplomat.

OTHER WORDS FOR career

2 vocation, calling, work, lifework, livelihood.

See synonyms for career on Thesaurus.com

VIDEO FOR CAREER

Did You Know The Names Of These Unique Careers?

Remember when you were little and everyone kept asking, “What do you wanna be when you grow up?” Well, we found some of the most unique career names to help you decide.

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QUIZ

ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ

There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!

Question 1 of 7

True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

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Origin of career

1525–35; <Middle French carriere<Old Provençal carriera literally, road <Late Latin carrāria (via) vehicular (road), equivalent to Latin carr(us) wagon (see car¹) + -āria, feminine of -ārius-ary

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH career

careen, career

Words nearby career

cardy, care, care and maintenance, care attendant, careen, career, career girl, careerism, careerist, careers adviser, careers master

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use career in a sentence

“He didn’t pitch until late in his college career, so there’s some relative freshness to his arm,” the scout told FiveThirtyEight.
Jacob DeGrom Just Keeps Throwing Faster|Travis Sawchik|September 17, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Instead, Khudobin has been off the mark so far in the bubble, playing some of the worst hockey of his career.
Teams Don’t Win The Stanley Cup With A Goal Deficit. Can The Dallas Stars Change That?|Terrence Doyle|September 16, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
“Ten years is better than four years, but it’s not better than career employment,” she said.
Nonpermanent federal workers could be hired for up to 10 years under Trump proposal|Eric Yoder|September 16, 2020|Washington Post
Being so young, doing it so early in my career — it’s amazing.
A Canadian Teenager Is One Of The Fastest Soccer Players In The World|Julian McKenzie|September 16, 2020|FiveThirtyEight

We are designing it for inspiration, to help members find the inspiration, energy, and allies they’ll need to grow their careers while make business better.
Fortune launches a new community for leaders who want to change business for good|Ellen McGirt|September 15, 2020|Fortune
I always wanted to have a career like his—except for the stopping work thing.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
So looking at that and that at that time I was also pursuing my career—so there was something here.
Patton Oswalt on Fighting Conservatives With Satire|William O’Connor|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The memoir follows Oswalt from 1995 to 1999 as he was starting out on his comedy career in Los Angeles.
Patton Oswalt on Fighting Conservatives With Satire|William O’Connor|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Starting under Theodore Roosevelt and Howard Taft, embassies headed by career diplomats increased in number.
U.S. Embassies Have Always Been for Sale|William O’Connor|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I ask Atefeh and Monir if they see dancing as a form of income in the future, a potential career.
Iran’s Becoming a Footloose Nation as Dance Lessons Spread|IranWire|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He began his military career at the age of 11, and continued in the service nearly 60 years.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
In 1856 she married Mesdag, who, rather late in life decided to follow the career of a painter.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
At the very commencement of the campaign Massna committed a fault which almost ruined his career.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
So did my versatile friend, joyously confident in his powers, start on his glorious career as a private detective.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
Your mad career generally ended in a crowd and a free fight of confetti.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke

British Dictionary definitions for career

career

/ (kəˈrɪə) /

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 specifieda career diplomat

a course or path, esp a swift or headlong one

verb

(intr) to move swiftly along; rush in an uncontrolled way

Word Origin for career

C16: from French carrière, from Late Latin carrāria carriage road, from Latin carrus two-wheeled wagon, car

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with career

career

see checkered career.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.