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
Noun
Americans are getting married, having kids, and buying houses at older ages, and spending longer on education and career exploration beforehand. Faith Hill, The Atlantic, 19 Mar. 2024 Auburn defeated Florida for its third Southeastern Conference tournament title in school history and coach Bruce Pearl’s 200th career win leading the program. Iliana Limón Romero, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024 Banksy's previous work has sold for millions Banksy began his career spray painting murals in England and has built a reputation for his satirical work. Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 19 Mar. 2024 When Summer Carnival is done and dusted, her total ticket sales in this territory will lift to more than 3.1 million across six tours, the largest career ticket sales ever accumulated by an international performer in ANZ, according to LN. Lars Brandle, Billboard, 19 Mar. 2024 Like with other controversies the star has faced in her career, Beyoncé has always used her music to address the headlines. Janay Kingsberry, Washington Post, 19 Mar. 2024 In an interview with GQ U.K. published Monday, the actress reflected on how the franchise opened the door for career opportunities such as Anyone But You and Barbarella. Lexy Perez, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Mar. 2024 Roehm’s mother, Cindi Garden, got Groovy Gus going a couple of years ago during a lull in her career. Amanda Hancock, The Courier-Journal, 19 Mar. 2024 Kylie Kelce just honored her husband Jason Kelce's 13-year NFL career. Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 8 Mar. 2024
Verb
Early in the Premier League game between Sheffield United and Brighton last month, the Sheffield United defender Mason Holgate went careering into Kaoru Mitoma, Brighton’s dazzling winger. Rory Smith, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2024 This video is currently not available China and the United States are careering toward an inevitable collision, Foreign Minister Qin Gang said Tuesday, a day after Chinese leader Xi Jinping made a rare direct accusation that Washington was trying to contain China. Christian Shepherd, Washington Post, 7 Mar. 2023 The unlucky loner is Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa), bright and disruptive, who has already been kicked out of three schools and is careering fast toward his fourth kick. Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2023 The woods, the streams, the snowy hills the friends career off—the natural world is a space as enchanted and real as Hobbes himself. Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2023 From the clocks positioned along the Pebble Beach golf course, to the Daytonas strapped to the wrists of the drivers careering around the treacherous Corkscrew curve at Laguna Seca, the brand was, quite literally, everywhere in Monterey. Victoria Gomelsky, Robb Report, 25 Aug. 2023 But first — a car chase while handcuffed together driving a microscopic yellow Fiat, careering through the streets of Rome like a demented billiard ball. Ann Hornaday, Washington Post, 6 July 2023 The story careers on to the first of the trilogy’s climaxes. Teresa M. Hanafin, BostonGlobe.com, 4 June 2023 The sponsors provide scholarships for National Merit finalists who are children of their employees, residents of communities the company serves, or who plan to pursue college majors or careers the sponsor wishes to encourage. Laura Groch, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 May 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'career.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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 28 Mar. 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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