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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Related Words

See occupation.

Other Word Forms

• nonprofession noun
• professionless 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” ( professed ) + -iō -ion

Example Sentences

The payoff is less certain when college expenses are rising and artificial intelligence threatens to upend many professions.

From The Wall Street Journal

When the Fed raised rates aggressively in 2022, nearly the entire economics profession predicted a recession.

From Barron's

The result: a 30% drop in employment from a late-2022 peak for actors, carpenters, costumers and the hundreds of other professions that make movies and TV shows, according to Labor Department data.

From The Wall Street Journal

Stacks of forms carefully documented each victim’s personal information and assets, including bank balances and the ages and professions of family members.

From The Wall Street Journal

But it's a profession where men remain very much the exception rather than the rule - there are more than 53,000 women working in midwifery around the UK compared to 194 men.

From BBC

Related Words

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