métier
Americannoun
-
a field of work; occupation, trade, or profession.
-
a field of work or other activity in which one has special ability or training; forte.
noun
-
a profession or trade, esp that to which one is well suited
-
a person's strong point or speciality
Etymology
Origin of métier
1785–95; < French; Old French mestier < Gallo-Romance *misterium, for Latin ministerium ministry
Explanation
If toasting bread is the limit of your culinary skills, then being a chef is probably not your métier. A métier, in other words, is a job to which you are particularly well suited by your skills. Your métier can also be a particularly outstanding talent or strong point in general. If you're a chef, your divine steak frites might be your métier. If you're a mechanic, your ability to understand transmissions may be your métier. Often used interchangeably with forte, meaning "strong point." As the accent over the "e" in métier implies, it's originally from the French, because the French, darn them, are good at so many things. Particularly steak frites.
Vocabulary lists containing metier
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!
English Words Derived from French, List 11
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!
Murder on the Orient Express
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.
Already you anticipate that some of these interviews aren’t going to go Leonard’s way as Schrader’s métier, the language of self-excoriating doubt, finds voice.
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2024
It “lacks focus and stability,” he wrote, “its métier is bearing witness, demonstrating solidarity.”
From Washington Post • Feb. 1, 2023
His métier is family: the way we are shaped by it and the way we push back on or move beyond it; how it both supports and limits us.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 22, 2022
Josh Safdie, though, emphasized the power Ms. Venditti exhibits in her métier: “I believe when she does all these audition tapes, they are a form of filmmaking.”
From New York Times • Apr. 4, 2022
To follow him, and punish guilt, was the métier of my companion; to follow her, and rescue innocence, was the rôle cast for me.
From The Wild Huntress Love in the Wilderness by Reid, Mayne
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.
