careerist

American

[kuh-reer-ist] / kəˈrɪər ɪst /

noun

a person who follows a career.
a person who pursues a policy or attitude of careerism.

careerist British

/ kəˈrɪərɪst /

noun

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.

It also has some surprisingly effective dramatic moments, such as when she confesses to being such a careerist that she missed her kids’ childhoods.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026

I think of her not as a careerist, but a Canadian.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2026

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 • Jul. 30, 2025

I am not a careerist; I have no such aspirations.

From Salon • May 9, 2023

The conception of human quality out of which all social machinery has been devised and built is a conception of slave quality and careerist quality.

From The Glands Regulating Personality by Berman, Louis, M.D.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023