Standard Lemma guide

career

adj · noun · verb · 14 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • homophone: chorea
  • homophone: Korea (in fast non-rhotic speech)
  • Received-Pronunciation: /kəˈɹɪə/
  • General-American: /kəˈɹɪɹ/
  • /kəˈɹɪ.ɚ/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • /kəˈrɪjə(r)/
  • homophone: currier (stress neutralized)
  • /ˈkarɪjə(r)/ spelling pronunciation
  • homophone: carrier
  • rhymes with -ɪə(ɹ)
  • CMU ARPABET: K ER0 IH1 R Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Doing something professionally, for a living (generally said of something that is not a commonplace job, e.g. criminal activity).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • a career burglar

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Synonym of serial (“doing something regularly”).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly, not-comparable

Examples

  • a career rapist

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: serial

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

One’s calling in life; one's working occupation or profession, especially when pursued seriously or over a long period of time.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

The course, evolution, and ongoing advancement of one's working life, especially in one particular field.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Washington’s career as a soldier
  • This scandal could ruin his career.
  • He regretted focusing on his career to the exclusion of his family.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

The general course of one's action or conduct in life, or in a particular area of life.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

Speed.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

A jouster's path during a joust.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

A short gallop of a horse.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

noun

Meaning 9

The flight of a hawk.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: falconry, hobbies, hunting, lifestyle

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

10

noun

Meaning 10

A racecourse; the ground run over.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

11

verb

Meaning 11

To move rapidly straight ahead, especially in an uncontrolled way.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The car careered down the road, missed the curve, and went through a hedge.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: careen

Antonyms: none provided

12

noun

Meaning 12

the general progression of your working or professional life

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the general had had a distinguished career
  • he had a long career in the law

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: life history

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: progress, progression, procession, advance, advancement, forward motion, onward motion

13

noun

Meaning 13

the particular occupation for which you are trained

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: calling, vocation

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: occupation, business, job, line of work, line

Narrower terms: specialization, specialisation, specialty, speciality, specialism, lifework, walk of life, walk, business life, professional life

14

verb

Meaning 14

move headlong at high speed

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The cars careered down the road
  • The mob careered through the streets

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: travel, go, move, locomote

History

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.

Across languages

Translations

133 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Abkhaz: акариера (akʼarjera) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Albanian: karierë — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Arabic: مِهْنَة (mihna) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Arabic: مسار مهني — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Armenian: կարիերա (kariera) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Azerbaijani: karyera — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Azerbaijani: mənsəb — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Belarusian: кар'е́ра (karʺjéra) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Bulgarian: карие́ра (kariéra) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Bulgarian: по́прище (póprište) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Catalan: carrera — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Chinese Mandarin: 職業 /职业 (zhíyè) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Czech: kariéra — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Danish: karriere — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Dutch: carrière — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Dutch: loopbaan — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Esperanto: kariero — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Estonian: karjäär — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Finnish: työ — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Finnish: ammatti — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • French: carrière — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Galician: carreira — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Georgian: კარიერა (ḳariera) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • German: Karriere — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • German: Laufbahn — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Greek: καριέρα (kariéra) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Gujarati: કારકિર્દી (kārkirdī) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Hebrew: קַרְיֶרָה — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Hebrew: קריירה (karyéra) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Hindi: आजीविका (ājīvikā) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Hindi: जीवक (jīvak) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Hungarian: karrier — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Icelandic: starfsferill — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Indonesian: karier — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Italian: carriera — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Japanese: 経歴 (keireki) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Japanese: キャリア (kyaria) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Japanese: 職業 (shokugyō) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Kazakh: мансап (mansap) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Khmer: អាជីព (ʼaaciip) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Khmer: អាជីវ (ʼaaciivĕəʼ) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Korean: 경력 (gyeongnyeok) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Korean: 직업 (jigeop) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Kyrgyz: мансап (mansap) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Lao: ອາຊີບ (ʼā sīp) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Latvian: karjera — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Lithuanian: karjera — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Macedonian: кариера (kariera) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Malay: karier — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Malay: kerjaya — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Māori: umanga — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Norwegian Bokmål: karriere — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: karriere — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Occitan: carrièra — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Dari: حِرْفَه (hirfa) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Dari: کَسْب (kasb) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Iranian Persian: حِرْفِه (herfe) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Iranian Persian: کَسْب (kasb) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Plautdietsch: Beroop (nds) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Polish: kariera — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Portuguese: carreira — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Romanian: carieră — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Russian: карье́ра (karʹjéra) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Russian: по́прище (póprišče) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Russian: профе́ссия (proféssija) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Russian: призва́ние (prizvánije) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Scots: career — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Serbo-Croatian: карије́ра — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Serbo-Croatian: karijéra — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Slovak: kariéra — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Slovene: kariera — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Spanish: carrera — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Spanish: oficio — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Spanish: menester — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Spanish: trayectoria (profesional) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Swedish: karriär — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Tagalog: karera — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Tajik: касб (kasb) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Tajik: мартаба (martaba) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Tajik: ҳирфа (hirfa) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Thai: อาชีพ (aa-chîip) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Thai: การงาน (gaan-ngaan) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Turkish: kariyer — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Ukrainian: кар'є́ра (karʺjéra) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Urdu: مَشْغَلَہ (maśġala) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Urdu: کَرِیئَر (karīar) — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Uzbek: karyera — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Uzbek: martaba — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Uzbek: kasb — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Vietnamese: nghề nghiệp — one's calling in life; a person's occupation
  • Arabic: مَسِيرَة (masīra) — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Arabic: مسار مهني — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Armenian: կարիերա (kariera) — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Belarusian: кар'е́ра (karʺjéra) — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Bulgarian: карие́ра (kariéra) — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Catalan: carrera — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Chinese Mandarin: 職業 /职业 (zhíyè) — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Chinese Mandarin: 生涯 (shēngyá) — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Esperanto: kariero — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Finnish: ura — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Finnish: työura — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • French: carrière — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Galician: carreira — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • German: Karriere — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Hebrew: קַרְיֶרָה — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Hebrew: קריירה (karyéra) — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Ido: kariero — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Irish: réim — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Japanese: 経歴 (keireki) — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Japanese: キャリア (kyaria) — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Malay: kerjaya — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Norwegian Bokmål: karriere — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: karriere — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Polish: kariera — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Portuguese: carreira — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Russian: карье́ра (karʹjéra) — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Spanish: carrera — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Swedish: karriär — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Turkish: kariyer — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Ukrainian: кар'є́ра (karʺjéra) — an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan
  • Bulgarian: карие́р (kariér) — a jouster's path during a joust
  • Russian: карье́р (karʹjér) — a jouster's path during a joust
  • Russian: карье́р (karʹjér) — horse career
  • Swedish: karriär — horse career
  • Ukrainian: кар'є́р (karʺjér) — horse career
  • Bulgarian: препускам (prepuskam) — to move rapidly straight ahead
  • Czech: řítit se — to move rapidly straight ahead
  • Czech: hnát se — to move rapidly straight ahead
  • Finnish: kiitää — to move rapidly straight ahead
  • Finnish: viilettää — to move rapidly straight ahead
  • Finnish: pyyhältää — to move rapidly straight ahead
  • French: foncer — to move rapidly straight ahead
  • Portuguese: voar — to move rapidly straight ahead
Real reading context

career in complete knowledge articles

Hanley Ramírez Science & nature · Developing · 23 uses Variations in published cricket statistics Ideas & learning · Challenging · 23 uses Adam Jones (baseball) Everyday life · Developing · 20 uses Anže Kopitar Everyday life · Challenging · 20 uses Matt Kemp People & society · Developing · 20 uses Smoky Burgess Science & nature · Developing · 20 uses History of Le Moyne Dolphins men's basketball (1992–1997) History & culture · Developing · 18 uses Jeff White (Australian footballer) Everyday life · Developing · 16 uses