Dictionary.com
definitions

vocation

[voh-key-shuhn]
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR vocation ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a particular occupation, business, or profession; calling.
a strong impulse or inclination to follow a particular activity or career.
a divine call to God's service or to the Christian life.
a function or station in life to which one is called by God: the religious vocation; the vocation of marriage.

RELATED WORDS

duty, art, office, profession, mission, trade, racket, employment, post, occupation, handicraft, field, role, dodge, do, business, game, craft, pursuit, line

Nearby words

  1. vocalization,
  2. vocalize,
  3. vocally,
  4. vocals,
  5. vocat.,
  6. vocational,
  7. vocational education,
  8. vocational guidance,
  9. vocational school,
  10. vocationalism

Origin of vocation

1400–50; late Middle English vocacio(u)n < Latin vocātiōn- (stem of vocātiō) a call, summons, equivalent to vocāt(us) past participle of vocāre to call (see -ate1) + -iōn- -ion
Can be confusedavocation vocationvacation vocation
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for vocation

British Dictionary definitions for vocation

vocation

noun

a specified occupation, profession, or trade
  1. a special urge, inclination, or predisposition to a particular calling or career, esp a religious one
  2. such a calling or career

Word Origin for vocation

C15: from Latin vocātiō a calling, from vocāre to call
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for vocation

vocation

n.

early 15c., "spiritual calling," from Latin vocationem (nominative vocatio), literally "a calling," from vocatus "called," past participle of vocare "to call" (see voice (n.)). Sense of "one's occupation or profession" is first attested 1550s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper