profession

American  

[pruh-fesh-uhn] / prəˈfɛʃ ən /

noun

1. a vocation requiring knowledge of some department of learning or science.

   the profession of teaching.

   Synonyms:

   employment, calling

2. any vocation or business.

3. the body of persons engaged in an occupation or calling.

   to be respected by the medical profession.

4. the act of professing; avowal; a declaration, whether true or false.

   professions of dedication.

   Synonyms:

   protestation, assertion, asseveration

5. the declaration of belief in or acceptance of religion or a faith.

   the profession of Christianity.

6. a religion or faith professed.

7. the declaration made on entering into membership of a church or religious order.

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profession British  

/ prəˈfɛʃən /

noun

1. an occupation requiring special training in the liberal arts or sciences, esp one of the three learned professions, law, theology, or medicine

2. the body of people in such an occupation

3. the act of professing; avowal; declaration

4. 1. 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

   2. 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

• professionless
  noun
• nonprofession
  noun

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!

Example Sentences

Judges are expected to behave with decorum while on the bench, but the profession doesn’t demand that they forfeit free-speech rights in retirement.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

"Our profession has been too quiet, too passive and too fragmented in the face of abuses by the companies leading the AI revolution," he said.

From Barron's • Jun. 1, 2026

And yet, the profession grew to about 350,000, according to government figures from 2021.

From BBC • May 29, 2026

More than a decade ago, I argued that IT must be treated as a profession, not merely a resource.

From MarketWatch • May 27, 2026

To be fair, sometimes the topic of conversation really is the activity of researchers, such as an overview intended to introduce graduate students or other insiders to the scholarly literature in their chosen profession.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Related Words

• art
• business
• career
• craft
• employment
• field
• line of work
• occupation
• pursuit
• role
• situation
• specialty
• undertaking