vocation

[ voh-key-shuhn ]

noun

1. a particular occupation, business, or profession; calling.

   Synonyms: pursuit, employment

2. a strong impulse or inclination to follow a particular activity or career.
3. a divine call to God's service or to the Christian life.
4. a function or station in life to which one is called by God:

   the religious vocation; the vocation of marriage.

vocation

/ vəʊˈkeɪʃən /

noun

1. a specified occupation, profession, or trade
2. 1. a special urge, inclination, or predisposition to a particular calling or career, esp a religious one
   2. such a calling or career

Word History and Origins

Origin of vocation¹

1400–50; late Middle English vocacio ( u ) n < Latin vocātiōn- (stem of vocātiō ) a call, summons, equivalent to vocāt ( us ) past participle of vocāre to call ( -ate ¹ ) + -iōn- -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of vocation¹

C15: from Latin vocātiō a calling, from vocāre to call

Example Sentences

But for many years, she and her parents saw acting as a temporary job, something to do until she landed on her real vocation.

From Los Angeles Times

Callum was described as a "talented kickboxer" who had "found his vocation as a barber".

From BBC

People working with empty homes all seem to have a strong sense of vocation.

From BBC

Lost in the vitriol surrounding Coates’ moral clarity on Palestine is the clarion call to Black writers in "The Message," that now is not the time to shrink from the tradition of which our vocation is a part — the Black Radical Tradition.

From Salon

He will also say waiting times in A&E are leading to avoidable deaths, adding: "People's loved ones who could have been saved. Doctors and nurses whose whole vocation is to save them - hampered from doing so. It's devastating."

From BBC