profession
Americannoun
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a vocation requiring knowledge of some department of learning or science.
the profession of teaching.
- Synonyms:
- employment, calling
-
any vocation or business.
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the body of persons engaged in an occupation or calling.
to be respected by the medical profession.
-
the act of professing; avowal; a declaration, whether true or false.
professions of dedication.
- Synonyms:
- protestation, assertion, asseveration
-
the declaration of belief in or acceptance of religion or a faith.
the profession of Christianity.
-
a religion or faith professed.
-
the declaration made on entering into membership of a church or religious order.
noun
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an occupation requiring special training in the liberal arts or sciences, esp one of the three learned professions, law, theology, or medicine
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the body of people in such an occupation
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the act of professing; avowal; declaration
-
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Also called: profession of faith. a declaration of faith in a religion, esp as made on entering the Church of that religion or an order belonging to it
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the faith or the religion that is the subject of such a declaration
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Synonym Usage
See occupation.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of profession
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Medieval Latin professiōn-, stem of professiō “the taking of the vows of a religious order,” from profess(us) “declared publicly” ( see professed) + -iō -ion
Explanation
An open declaration of an opinion or belief is a profession. If you announce that you believe the earth is flat, your profession of this opinion might cause some giggling among your well-educated friends. Careers that require specialized training or advanced degrees are considered professions. Your parents may want you to go into a profession like the practice of law, but you dream of being a rodeo clown. The collective group of people practicing a profession is also called profession. The medical profession doesn't know what to make of that thing growing out of your foot. You are a medical mystery!
Vocabulary lists containing profession
Can I Work It? Words for "Job"
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"The Pedestrian" by Ray Bradbury
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"Democracy in America, Vol. 1" by Alexis de Tocqueville, Introduction–Chapter 5
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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:
Instead of assuming you’ll earn steadily more as you advance in your profession, you plan for sudden job loss, a health crisis or some other life-changing adverse event.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 12, 2026
“The way he loves his profession and football, it’s difficult to put limits to that.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
Don’t expect members of my profession to track down the story.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
Willis, who is 64th in the world rankings, says he treats his profession more seriously than he ever has and wants to play as long as his body allows him.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
“It took a lot of hard work, but I’m glad every day that I made that decision and didn’t end up with some super-easy profession, like neurosurgeon.”
From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff
He questioned whether schools were preparing pupils for working life, pointing out that professions such as farming, nursing and medicine continued in hot weather.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
Associations representing nurses and other professions subject to the lower limit challenged the agency’s definition of professional program.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
The think-tank has examined how the technology could help or harm dozens of professions -- from cobblers to sewer cleaners, farmers to tea sellers.
From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026
In a statement, Surya Kant said his comments referred to people who use fake degrees to enter professions like law and media, not young people overall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
It is striking, for instance, how many different professions and disciplines have a word to describe the particular gift of reading deeply into the narrowest slivers of experience.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
