vocational
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or connected with a vocation or occupation.
a vocational aptitude.
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of, relating to, or noting instruction or guidance in an occupation or profession chosen as a career or in the choice of a career.
a vocational counselor.
adjective
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of or relating to a vocation or vocations
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of or relating to applied educational courses concerned with skills needed for an occupation, trade, or profession
vocational training
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of vocational
Explanation
If you're learning a skill that could lead to a specific job, like how to repair cars or how to be a chef, you're getting vocational training. Vocational means "related to a career." A vocation is a job or career, so something vocational is related to a specific kind of work. There are vocational schools that train people for jobs, which might be what you think of when you read the word vocational, though it could describe anything related to working. Vocational comes from the Latin word vocationem, or "a calling." It originally meant a spiritual calling, but grew to include employment in the 16th century.
Vocabulary lists containing vocational
President Trump's First State of The Union Address (2018)
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Revolution in Our Time
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Promises to Keep
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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.
When a South Carolina vocational center told Lynn Lee last month that they wanted to hire her, Lee could hardly believe it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Last year, more than 360,000 results for vocational and technical qualifications were given out.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
The government has been reviewing vocational qualifications to simplify the system and ensure courses provide the skills needed by students and employers.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Some vocational qualifications that overlapped with T-levels have had funding withdrawn, while others continue to be funded following a government review.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Back at Chad, Richard earned his high school diploma and then began taking vocational classes, earning certificates in programs like Irrigation Design and Forklift Driving.
From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater
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.
