vocation

vo·ca·tion
V4O1C3A1T1I1O1N1
UK/vəʊˈkeɪʃən/Canada, US/voʊˈkeɪʃən/Australia/vəʉˈkæɪʃən/New Zealand/vɐʉˈkæɪʃən/

noun

A divine calling to establish one's lifestyle.

“Nursing is a vocation that many people find horrendous.”

Similar
careercallingoccupational group
OriginMiddle English vocacioun ← Old French vocation ← Latin vocātiōnem →
Less commonScrabble 13
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounvocation (countable and uncountable, plural vocations)

plural vocations

  1. EcclesiasticalcountableuncountableA divine calling to establish one's lifestyle.

    The Catholic Church supports and teaches us that there are three vocations: the single life, married life, and the religious life or priesthood.

  2. countableuncountableAn occupation for which a person is suited, trained or qualified.

    Nursing is a vocation that many people find horrendous.

Synonyms & antonyms

Broader
joblabouroccupationwork

nounthe particular occupation for which you are trained

Similar
careercalling
Broader
occupationbusinessjob

nouna body of people doing the same kind of work

Similar
occupational group
Broader
body
Also see
callingcareeroccupation

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*wekʷ-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*wokʷ-
  3. Latinvocō
  4. Latinvocātiōnem
  5. Old Frenchvocation
  6. Middle Englishvocacioun
  7. Englishvocation

From Middle English vocacioun, from Old French vocation, from Latin vocātiō.

More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic رِسَالَة, نداء
  • رِسَالَة (risāla)calling
  • نداءcalling
  • اختيار لغرض دينيّcalling
  • دعوَةcalling
  • حِرْفَة (ḥirfa)occupation for which a person is suited
  • مِهْنَة (mihna)occupation for which a person is suited
Bulgarian призва́ние, влечение
  • призва́ние (prizvánie)calling
  • влечение (vlečenie)calling
  • занимание (zanimanie)occupation for which a person is suited
  • професия (profesija)occupation for which a person is suited
Catalan vocació, vocació
  • vocaciócalling
  • vocacióoccupation for which a person is suited
Chinese Mandarin 天職 /天职, 職業 /职业
  • 天職 /天职 (tiānzhí)calling
  • 職業 /职业 (zhíyè)occupation for which a person is suited
Czech povolání
  • povoláníoccupation for which a person is suited
Danish kald
  • kaldcalling
Dutch roeping
  • roepingcalling
Esperanto alvokiĝo, alvokiĝo
  • alvokiĝocalling
  • alvokiĝooccupation for which a person is suited
Finnish elämäntehtävä, kutsumus
  • elämäntehtäväcalling
  • kutsumuscalling
  • ammattioccupation for which a person is suited
French vocation, vocation
  • vocationcalling
  • vocationoccupation for which a person is suited
German Berufung, Beruf
  • Berufungcalling
  • Berufoccupation for which a person is suited
Greek κλίση, επάγγελμα
  • κλίση (klísi)calling
  • επάγγελμα (epángelma)occupation for which a person is suited
Hungarian hivatás
  • hivatásoccupation for which a person is suited
Icelandic köllun
  • kölluncalling
Indonesian vokasi
  • vokasioccupation for which a person is suited
Italian vocazione
  • vocazioneoccupation for which a person is suited
Japanese 天職, 天職
  • 天職 (tenshoku)calling
  • 天職 (tenshoku)occupation for which a person is suited
Norwegian yrke, erverv
  • yrke, ervervoccupation for which a person is suited
Polish wokacja, powołanie
  • wokacjacalling
  • powołanieoccupation for which a person is suited
  • posłannictwooccupation for which a person is suited
Portuguese vocação, vocação
  • vocaçãocalling
  • vocaçãooccupation for which a person is suited
Romanian vocație, predispoziție
  • vocațiecalling
  • predispozițiecalling
  • chemarecalling
  • ocupațieoccupation for which a person is suited
  • vocațieoccupation for which a person is suited
Russian призва́ние, призва́ние
  • призва́ние (prizvánije)calling
  • призва́ние (prizvánije)occupation for which a person is suited
Scottish Gaelic dreuchd
  • dreuchdoccupation for which a person is suited
Spanish vocación, profesión
  • vocacióncalling
  • profesiónoccupation for which a person is suited
Swedish kall, kall
  • kallcalling
  • kalloccupation for which a person is suited
Welsh galwedigaeth
  • galwedigaethcalling
Cite this entry
APA

vocation. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vocation

MLA

“vocation.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vocation. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “vocation,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vocation.

Source: vocation on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.