career

Etymology

Mid 16th century, from French carrière (“road; racecourse”), from Italian carriera, from Old Occitan carreira, from Late Latin carrāria based on Latin carrus (“wheeled vehicle”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥sós, from *ḱers- (“to run”); alternatively, from Middle French carriere, from Old Occitan.

noun

1. One's calling in life; a person's occupation; one's profession.
   When they've tortured and scared you for twenty-odd years / Then they expect you to pick a career 1971, “Working Class Hero”, in John Lennon (lyrics), John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band, performed by John Lennon
   As I explored the possibility of a library science path, having previously been employed in libraries during my school career and afterwards, I decided that I needed to actually experience work in a library setting full time again […] 2002, Priscilla K. Shontz, Steven J. Oberg, Jump Start Your Career in Library and Information Science, page 21
   Devils Lake is where I began my career as a limnologist in 1964, studying the lake’s neotenic salamanders and chironomids, or midge flies. […] The Devils Lake Basin is an endorheic, or closed, basin covering about 9,800 square kilometers in northeastern North Dakota. 2012-01, Douglas Larson, “Runaway Devils Lake”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 2012-05-23, page 46
2. General course of action or conduct in life, or in a particular part of it.
   Washington's career as a soldier
3. (archaic) Speed.
   when a horse is running in his full career
4. A jouster's path during a joust.
5. (obsolete) A short gallop of a horse.
   Such littleness damps the heat, and weakens the force of genius; as we check a horse in his career, and rein him in when we want him to amble 1756, William Guthrie (translator), Of Eloquence (originally by Quintillian)
6. (falconry) The flight of a hawk.
7. (obsolete) A racecourse; the ground run over.

verb

1. To move rapidly straight ahead, especially in an uncontrolled way.
   The car careered down the road, missed the curve, and went through a hedge.
   He likens the story of his 20s to "a fully fuelled jumbo jet just reaching take-off point and having to slam on the brakes. You've got this enormous bloody thing careering off the end of the runway, through the fence, through the house next door, bursting into flames and me crawling out and scraping my wounds for 10 years. I won't be flying that one again." 2003-10-16, Emma Brockes, quoting DBC Pierre, “How did I get here?”, in The Guardian
   However, the hosts hit back and hit back hard, first replacement hooker Andrew Hore sliding over, then Williams careering out of his own half and leaving several defenders for dead before flipping the ball to Nonu to finish off a scintillating move. September 16, 2011, Ben Dirs, “Rugby World Cup 2011: New Zealand 83-7 Japan”, in BBC Sport
   This secondary collision, head-on with a closing speed of 142mph, caused the DVT to veer off to the left. Many of the coaches behind it overturned and careered into an adjacent field. February 24 2021, Greg Morse, “Great Heck: a tragic chain of events”, in RAIL, number 925, page 39

adj

1. Synonym of serial (“doing something repeatedly or regularly as part of one's lifestyle or career”)
   a career criminal
   Studies on homeless income find that the typical “career panhandler” who dedicates his time overwhelmingly to begging can make between $600 and $1,500 a month. 2012, Arthur Gillard, Homelessness, page 38