Synonym Chooser

How does the noun occupation differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of occupation are business, calling, employment, métier, pursuit, and work. While all these words mean "a specific sustained activity engaged in especially in earning one's living," occupation implies work in which one engages regularly especially as a result of training.

his occupation as a trained auto mechanic

In what contexts can business take the place of occupation?

While in some cases nearly identical to occupation, business suggests activity in commerce or the management of money and affairs.

the business of managing a hotel

When can calling be used instead of occupation?

The words calling and occupation can be used in similar contexts, but calling applies to an occupation viewed as a vocation or profession.

the ministry seemed my true calling

When might employment be a better fit than occupation?

While the synonyms employment and occupation are close in meaning, employment implies work for which one has been engaged and is being paid by an employer.

your employment with this firm is hereby terminated

When is it sensible to use métier instead of occupation?

The words métier and occupation are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, métier implies a calling or pursuit for which one believes oneself to be especially fitted.

acting was my one and only métier

Where would pursuit be a reasonable alternative to occupation?

The synonyms pursuit and occupation are sometimes interchangeable, but pursuit suggests a trade, profession, or avocation followed with zeal or steady interest.

her family considered medicine the only proper pursuit

When would work be a good substitute for occupation?

Although the words work and occupation have much in common, work may apply to any purposeful activity whether remunerative or not.

her work as a hospital volunteer

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of occupation The library demonstration was at least the third takeover of a campus building this semester, after activists staged occupations of an administrative building and library at the affiliated Barnard College. Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 7 May 2025 Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, after a decadeslong occupation and then imposed a blockade on the territory along with Egypt. Arkansas Online, 6 May 2025 Kristin Nichols, 60, of Palm Springs, who was visiting with family, said that as someone who is part Chickasaw she was particularly moved by the exhibits about the Native American occupation. Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2025 In a little over a month, the Polish Army was defeated, and the country of Poland came under Nazi and Soviet occupation. Paul Hockenos, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for occupation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for occupation
Noun
  • In terms of creating legitimacy for the profession, the guild is also looking at establishing accreditation for certain creators and establishing a database called Hue, similar to IMDB, to display their work.
    Manisha Krishnan, Wired News, 9 May 2025
  • Gates claimed that coders, energy experts, and biologists are the only professions safe from AI in the next decade.
    Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 May 2025
Noun
  • The burden will increasingly shift onto city agencies like the Department of Building and Safety to serve thousands of homeowners and businesses seeking plan checks, permits, inspections and certificates of occupancy.
    Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2025
  • The fire was initially upgraded to a second alarm before a third alarm was activated based on the size of the building and its occupancy, according to fire officials.
    Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 14 May 2025
Noun
  • Prevost was pastor of vocations and director of missions for the Augustinian order in Chicago and worked in Peru for several years teaching canon law.
    Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 9 May 2025
  • In Europe and North America especially, the faith of our ancestors has been in a decades-long retreat—pews emptying, vocations dwindling, parish doors shuttering.
    Christopher Hale, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 May 2025
Noun
  • Alaska’s vast wilderness has been a testing ground of human endurance for millennia as the gateway for human habitation of the Americas.
    Saleem H. Ali, Forbes.com, 18 May 2025
  • Air travel rules for kids suggest legal frameworks for longer, deeper excursions — and eventually permanent habitation — in space.
    Dave S. Brody, Space.com, 26 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Tony had just returned to employment at the store, freshly sober and needing a job.
    Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2025
  • Phyllis Hope Stitt, 61, worked at the Employment Development Department as an employment program representative, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
    William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 11 May 2025
Noun
  • Jackson’s performance will take place during the next leg of her Vegas residency Janet Jackson: Las Vegas, which launched in December 2024, with six shows taking place at the Resorts World Theatre at Resorts World Las Vegas from May 21-31.
    Hilary Lewis, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2025
  • All money raised through the tours goes into preserving the otherworldly buildings and onsite artisan studios, residencies and events.
    San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 May 2025
Noun
  • Laundry sanitizers are also recommended for washing work clothes that have been contaminated with pathogens of human, animal, or agricultural origin.
    Jolie Kerr, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 May 2025
  • High calcium levels can affect how fast your heart beats and how well other heart medications work.
    Health, Health, 20 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Occupation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/occupation. Accessed 25 May. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on occupation

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