career

1 of 2

noun

ca·​reer kə-ˈrir How to pronounce career (audio)
1
: a profession for which one trains and which is undertaken as a permanent calling
a career in medicine
often used before another noun
a career diplomat
2
: a field for or pursuit of consecutive progressive achievement especially in public, professional, or business life
Washington's career as a soldier
3
a
: speed in a course
used especially in the phrases in full career or at full career
The trumpets sounded, and the knights charged each other in full career.Sir Walter Scott
b
: course, passage
the sun's career across the sky
4

career

2 of 2

verb

careered; careering; careers

intransitive verb

: to go at top speed especially in a headlong manner
a car careered off the road

Did you know?

In medieval tournaments, jousting required knights to ride at full speed in short bursts, and the noun career (coming from Middle French carriere) was used to refer to such gallops as well as to the courses that knights rode. The related verb came to mean "to go at top speed." The familiar career, referring to one's job, originated from these uses.

Did you know?

Careen and Career

Some people might be confused by the warning to not confuse careen and career, because the most common sense of career ("a profession") is not much like any of the meanings of careen. But when employed as a verb, career does have some semantic overlap with careen; both words may be used to mean "to go at top speed especially in a headlong manner." A car, for instance, may either careen or career. Some usage guides hold, however, that the car is only careening if there is side-to-side motion, as careen has other meanings related to movement, among which is "to sway from side to side."

Examples of career in a Sentence

Noun She hopes to pursue a career in medicine. My career as a waitress lasted one day. During his long career in advertising he won numerous awards and honors. Verb she careered off to the class she'd almost forgotten
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Lake, a former TV news anchor, launched a political career as a Republican Trump loyalist just after the president-elect's first term in the White House. Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 12 Dec. 2024 Well, multi-hyphenate artist Cole Escola plays Mary Todd Lincoln as an acerbic alcoholic who cares way more about achieving a career as a cabaret singer than whether her husband (Conrad Ricamora) wins the ongoing Civil War. Ew Staff, EW.com, 11 Dec. 2024
Verb
The second the final whistle blew, all of Georgia’s subs and staff careered onto the pitch. Tim Spiers, The Athletic, 9 July 2024 Mental health has become one of the most important issues on college campuses throughout the nation, with college students facing challenges, ranging from academic pressures to career uncertainty to social and financial stressors. Marybeth Gasman, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for career 

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle French carriere, from Old Occitan carriera street, from Medieval Latin carraria road for vehicles, from Latin carrus car

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1534, in the meaning defined at sense 3a

Verb

1647, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of career was circa 1534

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Dictionary Entries Near career

Cite this Entry

“Career.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/career. Accessed 25 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

career

1 of 2 noun
ca·​reer kə-ˈri(ə)r How to pronounce career (audio)
1
b
: full speed or activity
in full career
2
: a course of continued progress or activity
3
: a profession followed as a permanent occupation

career

2 of 2 verb
: to go at top speed
a car careered off the road

More from Merriam-Webster on career

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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