profession

noun pro·fes·sion \ prə-ˈfe-shən \

Definition of profession

1 :the act of taking the vows of a religious community

2 :an act of openly declaring or publicly claiming a belief, faith, or opinion :protestation

3 :an avowed religious faith

4 a :a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation

b :a principal calling, vocation, or employment

c :the whole body of persons engaged in a calling

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Examples of profession in a Sentence

The doctor talked to students who are thinking about entering the profession.
Most professions in the medical field require years of training.
Their daughter recently became a member of the medical profession.

Recent Examples of profession from the Web

Keyes works in a profession that has long been notoriously dominated by men.

— joy lanzendorfer, The Atlantic, "Why Aren’t There More Women Working in Audio?," 30 Aug. 2017
The Indiana Department of Homeland Security task force is composed of police officers, firefighters, hospital personnel, mental heath professionals and people ranging from several other professions, McKay said.

— javonte anderson, Post-Tribune, "NWI emergency responders ready to help Harvey victims," 29 Aug. 2017
Even affluent districts with new buildings and huge football stadiums are now hemorrhaging qualified teachers to other states or professions.

— Washington Post, "Charities try to help Oklahoma teachers survive pay collapse," 27 Aug. 2017
All teams must use a common character name and profession, prop and line in their films; these elements will also be announced Friday.

— rebecca aydin, chicagotribune.com, "Filmmakers have 48 hours to make a masterpiece," 24 Aug. 2017
Tensing might be wise to get a fresh start far away in a new profession.

— Cincinnati.com, "Ch@troom: Tensing’s future? Not in our community," 16 Aug. 2017
My advice is to go back to school and figure out some other type of profession.

— claire cain miller and quoctrung bui, New York Times, "Switching Careers Doesn’t Have to Be Hard: Charting Jobs That Are Similar to Yours," 27 July 2017
Whatever the reason, multigenerational travel lets grandparents offer their kids and grandkids a leg up, both in life and in their future profession, based on their experience of the world.

— taysha murtaugh, Country Living, "Vacationing With Your Grandparents Is Our Favorite New Travel "Trend"," 21 July 2017
These women are changing the genre Mariachi Lindas Mexicanas, led by Maricela Martinez, stands out in a largely male profession.

— Los Angeles Magazine, "An Inside Look at One of LA’s Only All-Female Mariachi Bands," 17 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'profession.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of profession

Middle English professioun, from Anglo-French profession, from Late Latin & Latin; Late Latin profession-, professio, from Latin, public declaration, from profitēri

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

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