career

/kəˈrɪər/

/kəˈrɪə/

Other forms: careers; careering; careered

You may have to take jobs as a dog walker, cat groomer, and fish feeder before you complete school for a career as a veterinarian. Small jobs in the short term give you experience for a long-term career.

Career comes from the French carrière, from an older word for "street" or "road." Staying on track for a certain career is like driving a car in one direction on a road, instead of veering in different directions. Maybe the expression "career path" is helpful in remembering that a career is something that progresses, or moves forward on a set path. It can also be used as a verb to describe something moving quickly and uncontrollably, like a car careering into a ditch.

Definitions of career

1. noun

   the particular occupation for which you are trained
   synonyms: calling, vocation

   types:

   specialisation, specialism, speciality, specialization, specialty

   the special line of work you have adopted as your career

   lifework

   the principal work of your career

   walk, walk of life

   careers in general

   business life, professional life

   a career in industrial or commercial or professional activities

   type of:

   business, job, line, line of work, occupation

   the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money
2. noun

   the general progression of your working or professional life
   “the general had had a distinguished career”

   “he had a long career in the law”

   synonyms: life history

   type of:

   advance, advancement, forward motion, onward motion, procession, progress, progression

   the act of moving forward (as toward a goal)
3. verb

   move headlong at high speed
   “The cars careered down the road”

   “The mob careered through the streets”

   synonyms: barrel, careen

   type of:

   go, locomote, move, travel

   change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically