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careerist

American  
[kuh-reer-ist] / kəˈrɪər ɪst /

noun

  1. a person who follows a career.

  2. a person who pursues a policy or attitude of careerism.


careerist British  
/ kəˈrɪərɪst /

noun

  1. a person who values success in his career above all else and seeks to advance it by any possible means

"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 Word Forms

  • careerism noun

Etymology

Origin of careerist

First recorded in 1905–10; career + -ist

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.

Asked how his party would undertake a negotiation with the EU, Farage told reporters his party would be better-placed to conduct talks than the "careerists that have gone before us".

From BBC

That actually happened, but Byun Sung-hyun’s deeply cynical retelling doesn’t want you to take its word for it — and it’s best not to trust these careerist officials to save the day either.

From Los Angeles Times

When asked whether his defection was motivated by an opportunity to become MP for Gravesham again, Mr Holloway insisted he was not a "careerist".

From BBC

While Katie and Eva turn toward more conventional career paths, Sally, who displays an artistic temperament early on, persists in pursuing a career in art — an outlier in a family of ambitious careerists.

From Los Angeles Times

“Didion & Babitz,” available Nov. 12, probes this Janus-like contrast until a sharp picture forms of Didion as the ambitious careerist and Babitz as her muse, who subsequently becomes a writer herself.

From Los Angeles Times