What does "career" mean?
One’s calling in life; one's working occupation or profession, especially when pursued seriously and/or over a long period of time.
Career
/kəˈɹɪə/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: One’s calling in life; one's working occupation or profession, especially when pursued seriously and/or over a long period of time.
- Grammar: career is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: calling, vocation, accomplished, accomplished fact.
- Useful contrasts: avocations, calm, hobby.
- Usage evidence: His career prospects at the company are not too promising.
How to use "career"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "career" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "career" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "career" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "career" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "career" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "calling" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "career", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 One’s calling in life; one's working occupation or profession, especially when pursued seriously and/or over a long period of time.
"When they’ve tortured and scared you for twenty-odd years, / Then they expect you to pick a career"
- 2 the general progression of your working or professional life wordnet
- 3 The course, evolution, and ongoing advancement of one's working life, especially in one particular field.
"Washington’s career as a soldier"
- 4 the particular occupation for which you are trained wordnet
- 5 The general course of one's action or conduct in life, or in a particular area of life.
"As I explored the possibility of a library science path, having previously been employed in libraries during my school career and afterwards, I decided that I needed to actually experience work in a library setting full time again […]"
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 Speed. archaic
"What rein can hold licentious wickedness When down the hill he holds his fierce career?"
- 7 A jouster's path during a joust.
"These knights, therefore, their aim being thus eluded, rushed from opposite sides betwixt the object of their attack and the Templar, almost running their horses against each other ere they could stop their career."
- 8 A short gallop of a horse. obsolete
"It is said of Cæsar […] that in his youth being mounted upon a horse, and without any bridle, he made him run a full cariere [tr. carriere], make a sodaine stop, and with his hands behind his backe performe what ever can be expected of an excellent ready horse."
- 9 The flight of a hawk.
- 10 A racecourse; the ground run over. obsolete
"to think of going back again the same career"
Verb
- 1 To move rapidly straight ahead, especially in an uncontrolled way.
"The car careered down the road, missed the curve, and went through a hedge."
- 2 move headlong at high speed wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Doing something professionally, for a living (generally said of something that is not a commonplace job, e.g. criminal activity). not-comparable
"a career burglar"
- 2 Synonym of serial (“doing something regularly”). broadly, not-comparable
"a career rapist"
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"His career prospects at the company are not too promising."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "career"?
Common synonyms include: calling, vocation, accomplished, accomplished fact, advance, advance.
How do you use "career" in a sentence?
His career prospects at the company are not too promising.
How do you pronounce "career"?
Pronounced /kəˈɹɪə/.
Etymology
Mid 16th century, from French carrière (“road; racecourse”), from Italian carriera, from Old Occitan carreira, from Late Latin carrāria based on Latin carrus (“wheeled vehicle”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥sós, from *ḱers- (“to run”); alternatively, from Middle French carriere, from Old Occitan.
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