métier
Americannoun
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a field of work; occupation, trade, or profession.
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a field of work or other activity in which one has special ability or training; forte.
noun
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a profession or trade, esp that to which one is well suited
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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"
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English Words Derived from French, List 11
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Murder on the Orient Express
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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.
Huneven’s mother was a fierce critic whose métier was the unprovoked insult.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2025
Weber’s métier is working in industrial corridors in redlined neighborhoods helping communities of color heal from the effects of environmental and social ills, often a lengthy and collaborative process.
From New York Times • May 29, 2024
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
The 48-year-old Californian traveled a rocky path to his novel métier.
From Reuters • Jul. 7, 2021
Joseph is an ancient retainer of the Wynn family, who, in its domestic affairs, plays parts of many kinds—among them the métier of boatman.
From Gwen Wynn A Romance of the Wye 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.
