Synonyms for occupation
Most common
All synonyms
Noun
1. Profession
profession, job, vocation, work, business, line of work informal, line, function, calling, office, walk of life, place, trade, pursuit, exercise, interest, craft
Other
employment, residence, avocation, occupancy, tenure, usurpation, possession, holding, metier
Definitions
- n. 1
An activity or task with which one occupies oneself; usually specifically the productive activity, service, trade, or craft for which one is regularly paid; a job.
Related words
Forms
- Plural
- occupations → professions, jobs, vocations, works…
Choose the right word
Pursuit is an occupation which one follows with ardor. Trade or trading is, in general, the exchanging of one thing for another; in the special sense, a trade is an occupation involving manual training and skilled labor; as, the ancient Jews held that every boy should learn a trade.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- profession That's the most enjoyable aspect of my profession.
- vocation Never choose a vocation just because it looks easy.
- employment He didn't give us his previous employment record.
- residence Sami purchased a three-bedroom residence in Cairo.
- avocation Learning languages is my avocation. I don't get paid for it.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| occupation | falling | |
| profession | falling | |
| vocation | steady | |
| employment | falling | |
| residence | falling | |
| avocation | falling |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 3 letters
- job1
- 4 letters
- work1, line1
- 5 letters
- place1, trade1, craft1
- 6 letters
- office2, tenure2, metier2
- 7 letters
- calling2, holding2, pursuit2
- 8 letters
- business2, interest2, function2, exercise3, vocation3
- 9 letters
- residence3, occupancy4, avocation4
- 10 letters
- employment3, possession3, profession3, usurpation4
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (office2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- occupation
- Italiano
- occupazione
- Español
- ocupación