profession

noun

pro·fes·sion prə-ˈfe-shən

Synonyms of profession next

: the act of taking the vows of a religious community

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

: an avowed religious faith

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

: a principal calling, vocation, or employment

: the whole body of persons engaged in a calling

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 on the Web The list includes directors, editors, grips, makeup artists, props suppliers and location managers, among dozens of other professions that make a production go round. —

Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Nov. 2023 Wine making was just one of countless professions Black South Africans were excluded from under the oppressive rule of apartheid. —

Dorothy J. Gaiter, Travel + Leisure, 9 Nov. 2023 Because of the high cost of the rental units, the types of professions the clients had and the price of the services, authorities believe the brothels are high-end. —

Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Washington Post, 8 Nov. 2023 Waldron said people in some of those professions testified before a legislative committee in favor of clinical use of psychedelics. —

Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Nov. 2023 The impetus for Harris, Haley and Ramaswamy's parents all leaving India revolve around pursuing professions in the sciences or engineering. —

Zohreen Shah, ABC News, 6 Nov. 2023 The pandemic also led to job loss and economic instability, which can increase stress levels among pregnant people, said Martine Hackett, an associate professor of health professions at Hofstra University. —

Aria Bendix, NBC News, 1 Nov. 2023 The two professions shared key areas of concern like residual payments and artificial intelligence, but some of their demands differed. —

Max Zahn, ABC News, 8 Nov. 2023 As the start of the Camerimage Film Festival approaches, Variety asked four festival regulars, all sought-after cinematographers, to weigh in on the issues, trends and opportunities the profession is encountering this year – all subjects expected to come up during the fest, which runs Nov. 11-18. —

Will Tizard, Variety, 7 Nov. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'profession.' 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

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

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of profession was in the 13th century

See more words from the same century