# Work & Careers

**Type:** Topic
**Words:** 344

## About

Jobs, offices, professions, and the words that fill a working day.

## Words by Level

### A1
- work — Activity that you do to make or achieve something, especially as a job.; frequency rank 144
- job — The regular paid work that a person does to earn a living.; frequency rank 261
- office — A room or building where people work, usually at desks.; frequency rank 485
- meeting — An organized gathering of people for a particular purpose.; frequency rank 622
- project — A planned piece of work with a particular aim, done over a period of time.; frequency rank 1526
- interview — a formal meeting where someone is asked questions to see if they are right for a job.; frequency rank 1711
- worker — A person who works at a particular job, especially physical work.; frequency rank 3425
- skill — the ability to do something well, usually gained through learning or practice; frequency rank 4287

### A2
- running — The activity or sport of moving quickly on foot.; frequency rank 555
- system — A set of connected parts that work together as a whole.; frequency rank 752
- stage — A raised platform where actors, singers, or speakers perform in front of an audience.; frequency rank 1208
- manager — A person whose job is to be in charge of a business, shop, or part of an organization.; frequency rank 1462
- staff — The group of people who work for a company, school, or organization.; frequency rank 1722
- assistant — A person whose job is to help someone, especially in their work.; frequency rank 1886
- task — A piece of work that you have to do.; frequency rank 2679
- colleague — A person you work with, especially in a profession or business.; frequency rank 3843
- branch — A part of a tree that grows out from the trunk.; frequency rank 3877
- labor — Hard work, especially physical work done for pay.; frequency rank 4037
- employee — A person who is paid to work for a company or another person; frequency rank 4170
- organized — Arranged in a neat, efficient way.; frequency rank 4451
- clerk — A person who works in an office keeping records or accounts.; frequency rank 5058
- painter — An artist who creates pictures using paint.; frequency rank 5614
- businessman — A man who works in business, especially as an owner or manager.; frequency rank 5714
- occupation — A person's job or regular paid work.; frequency rank 6999
- employer — A person or company that pays others to work for them; frequency rank 8348
- employ — To pay someone to work for you; frequency rank 9268
- receptionist — A person whose job is to welcome and help visitors and answer the phone at the front of an office or hotel.; frequency rank 11469
- digger — A large piece of machinery that digs holes or trenches.; frequency rank 12264
- businesswoman — A woman who works in business, especially as an owner or manager.; frequency rank 23968
- post office

### B1
- working — Present participle of work; doing a job or task.; frequency rank 369
- mission — An important job or task that a person or group is given.; frequency rank 1152
- career — The job or profession you do over a long part of your working life.; frequency rank 1467
- carter — a person whose work is driving a cart or transporting loads by cart; frequency rank 2219
- hire — To give someone a job and pay them to work for you.; frequency rank 2534
- interrupt — to stop someone from speaking or doing something by suddenly breaking in.; frequency rank 3245
- assignment — A task or piece of work that you are given to do.; frequency rank 3889
- cowboy — a person who tends cattle, especially on horseback; frequency rank 4118
- promotion — A move to a more important job or higher rank.; frequency rank 4308
- bureau — A government department or office that deals with a particular task.; frequency rank 4464
- profession — A type of job that needs special training or education, such as law or medicine.; frequency rank 4728
- quote — To repeat the exact words that someone has written or said.; frequency rank 4761
- designer — A person whose job is to plan how something will look or work.; frequency rank 4937
- warden — an official responsible for supervising a place, activity, or body of rules; frequency rank 4979
- porter — a very dark sweet ale brewed from roasted unmalted barley; frequency rank 5204
- cloth — Material made by weaving or knitting fibres, used to make clothes and other things.; frequency rank 5610
- qualified — Having the right training, skills, or experience for a job or task.; frequency rank 5747
- agenda — A list of the things to be discussed at a meeting.; frequency rank 6127
- salesman — A man whose job is to sell things, in a shop or by visiting customers.; frequency rank 6129
- expense — The money that you spend on something.; frequency rank 6232
- craft — An activity that involves making things skilfully with your hands.; frequency rank 6469
- deadline — A time or date by which something must be finished.; frequency rank 7000
- unemployed — Without a job, although able and willing to work.; frequency rank 7442
- employment — Paid work, or the state of having a job; frequency rank 7454
- achievement — Something done successfully, especially after effort or skill.; frequency rank 8296
- wright — someone who makes or repairs something (usually used in combination); frequency rank 9153
- fireman — a man whose job is to extinguish fires; a dated or gender-specific term for a firefighter; frequency rank 10303
- canned — Stored and preserved in a sealed metal can.; frequency rank 10668
- workplace — The place where someone works.; frequency rank 11832
- organism — A single living thing, such as an animal, plant, or microbe.; frequency rank 12454
- adviser — An expert who gives advice, especially as part of their job.; frequency rank 14336
- developer — a person who creates or modifies software; frequency rank 17336
- housework — The work of cleaning, cooking, and looking after a home.; frequency rank 17347
- milkman — a man whose job is to deliver milk to homes or businesses; frequency rank 19294
- barman — A man whose job is serving drinks in a bar or pub.; frequency rank 21005
- paralyze — To make someone unable to move part or all of their body.; frequency rank 29104
- maintainer — a person responsible for keeping equipment, a system, or a place in good condition; frequency rank 139312
- nailer — a worker who attaches something by nailing it; frequency rank 140247

### B2
- crew — The people who work together to operate a ship, aircraft, or other vehicle.; frequency rank 1485
- gang — An organized group of criminals.; frequency rank 1707
- pa — Father; dad.; frequency rank 2684
- mason — a craftsman who works with stone or brick; frequency rank 2968
- miller — a person who owns or operates a mill, especially one that grinds grain into flour; frequency rank 3193
- cooper — a craftsperson who makes or repairs wooden barrels, casks, buckets, and similar vessels; frequency rank 3365
- personnel — The people who work for an organization or in the armed forces.; frequency rank 4622
- embassy — The official building where a country's representatives work in a foreign country.; frequency rank 4745
- cooperate — To work together with others toward a shared goal.; frequency rank 4845
- retirement — The period of life after you stop working permanently.; frequency rank 5292
- convention — A way of behaving or doing things that most people in a group accept as normal.; frequency rank 5583
- supervisor — A person whose job is to oversee and direct the work of others.; frequency rank 6486
- resume — To start something again after stopping or pausing.; frequency rank 6501
- nursing — The job or skill of caring for sick or injured people as a nurse.; frequency rank 6667
- overtime — Time worked beyond one's normal working hours.; frequency rank 7364
- dental — Relating to the teeth.; frequency rank 7541
- funding — Money provided for a particular purpose or project.; frequency rank 7599
- cripple — To seriously damage something so that it can no longer work properly.; frequency rank 8795
- ax — A tool with a heavy metal blade on a handle, used for cutting wood.; frequency rank 10007
- cooperative — Willing to work with others and be helpful.; frequency rank 11463
- journalism — The work of collecting, writing, and reporting news for newspapers, TV, or the internet.; frequency rank 11489
- offshore — Located in the sea, away from the coast.; frequency rank 11517
- placement — The act of putting something in a particular place; its position.; frequency rank 14562
- collier — someone who works in a coal mine; frequency rank 15219
- electrician — A worker who installs, repairs, and maintains electrical wiring and equipment.; frequency rank 15241
- ringer — a person who rings a bell, especially a church or public bell; frequency rank 17081
- redundant — No longer needed or useful; more than is necessary.; frequency rank 18103
- advancement — Progress or development in knowledge, skill, or a field of work.; frequency rank 19241
- grocer — a person who owns or works in a shop that sells food and everyday household supplies; frequency rank 19599
- compute — to work something out using numbers or a computer; to calculate; frequency rank 19725
- locksmith — a person whose job is to make, fit, open, or repair locks and keys; frequency rank 20227
- feller — a person whose work is cutting down trees; frequency rank 21058
- clerical — Relating to office work such as keeping records and files.; frequency rank 22920
- workforce — All the people who work for a company or on a project.; frequency rank 23064
- hatter — a person who makes, sells, or repairs hats; frequency rank 23201
- craftsman — A worker who is highly skilled at a trade, especially one done by hand.; frequency rank 23310
- masseur — A man whose job is to give massages.; frequency rank 23442
- deduce — To work something out by reasoning from the facts you have.; frequency rank 26145
- economist — An expert in economics who studies how money, trade, and industry work.; frequency rank 26622
- workman — A man who does physical or manual work for pay.; frequency rank 27963
- beater — a person employed during a hunt to drive birds or other game out of cover toward the hunters; frequency rank 28499
- numerical — Shown or measured using numbers.; frequency rank 30360
- forestry — The science and work of planting and looking after forests.; frequency rank 36135
- unsatisfactory — Not good enough; not meeting the required standard; frequency rank 37418
- prospector — a person who searches an area for valuable minerals, oil, or other natural resources; frequency rank 39299
- ferryman — a man who operates a ferry or carries passengers across water by boat; frequency rank 41699
- saleswoman — A woman whose job is to sell things, in a shop or by visiting customers.; frequency rank 41950
- woodcutter — a person whose work is cutting down trees or cutting timber into firewood; frequency rank 43963
- sorter — a person whose job is to separate or arrange items into groups or classes; frequency rank 81615
- balky — Refusing to move, work, or cooperate.; frequency rank 221876
- wage-earner — a person who works in return for wages or a salary, especially as distinguished from an employer or someone living on investments; frequency rank 280412
- tradesperson — a skilled manual worker in a particular trade or craft; frequency rank 646582
- flail — to wave or swing the arms or legs about wildly and uncontrollably
- mender — a person who repairs something
- day laborer — a worker hired and paid by the day, especially for temporary or unskilled manual work

### C1
- ministry — A government department responsible for a particular area, usually headed by a minister.; frequency rank 5074
- abortion — The deliberate ending of a pregnancy before the baby can survive on its own.; frequency rank 6259
- elaborate — Having many parts or details; carefully and richly worked out.; frequency rank 7898
- carpenter — A person whose job is making and repairing wooden things; frequency rank 8321
- weaver — a craftsman who weaves cloth; frequency rank 8698
- contractor — A person or company hired to do a particular job under a contract, rather than as a regular employee.; frequency rank 9356
- malfunction — To stop working properly or fail to work at all.; frequency rank 11712
- defect — A fault or flaw that makes something imperfect or not work properly.; frequency rank 11758
- climax — The most exciting or important point of an event, story, or career.; frequency rank 12183
- guild — an association of merchants or craftspeople formed to regulate a trade, protect common interests, and provide mutual support; frequency rank 12357
- pathologist — An expert in pathology; a specialist who examines samples of body tissues for diagnostic or forensic purpose.; frequency rank 14483
- apparatus — A complex machine or set of equipment built for a particular job.; frequency rank 14570
- confide — To tell someone a secret or private matter because you trust them.; frequency rank 14694
- coordinator — A person whose job is to organize people or activities so they work well together.; frequency rank 17097
- nominate — To officially suggest someone as a candidate for a job, position, or award.; frequency rank 18477
- collaborate — To work together with others to achieve a shared goal.; frequency rank 19151
- occupational — Relating to a person's job or profession.; frequency rank 19285
- productivity — The rate at which workers produce goods or services; how efficiently work is done.; frequency rank 21680
- carpentry — The skill or work of making and repairing things out of wood; frequency rank 29174
- chambermaid — a woman employed to clean and care for bedrooms, now chiefly in a hotel and historically in a private household; frequency rank 29902
- postmaster — The head of a post office.; frequency rank 33068
- stenographer — a person trained to transcribe speech rapidly using shorthand or a stenotype machine; frequency rank 33089
- croupier — a casino employee who manages a gaming table, handles bets, and pays winnings; frequency rank 33863
- underling — a person of lower rank who works for or is controlled by someone more powerful, often used disparagingly; frequency rank 39160
- probationary — subject to a trial period before a position, status, or arrangement becomes permanent; frequency rank 40801
- hawker — someone who travels about selling his wares (as on the streets or at carnivals); frequency rank 41753
- businesslike — methodical, efficient, practical, and focused on accomplishing a task; frequency rank 48260
- deckhand — a member of a ship or boat crew who performs manual work on deck; frequency rank 51311
- confectioner — a person or business that makes or sells sweets, chocolates, cakes, or other confections; frequency rank 62056
- workflow — the sequence of steps, people, and tools by which work is completed; frequency rank 106124
- perfumer — a person who creates, blends, or sells perfumes; frequency rank 112093
- prolifically — In a way that produces a great deal of work or results; abundantly.; frequency rank 692463
- indentured — bound by a formal contract to work for another for a specified time, often without pay in exchange for passage to a new country
- lawyering — the practice or profession of working as a lawyer, involving legal advice and representation
- gold seeker — a person who searches or prospects for gold, especially someone drawn to a gold-rush region

### C2
- shepherd — a herder of sheep, often on an open range; frequency rank 5023
- abigail — historical: a lady's maid or female personal attendant; frequency rank 7636
- sawyer — a person employed to saw wood, especially timber in a sawpit or sawmill; frequency rank 9837
- carver — someone who carves the meat; frequency rank 10681
- florist — a person who grows, arranges, or sells cut flowers and ornamental plants; frequency rank 15081
- cutler — a person who makes, repairs, or sells knives and other cutlery; frequency rank 15109
- undertaker — one whose business is the management of funerals; frequency rank 16012
- cinematography — The art and craft of filming a movie, especially the camera work and lighting.; frequency rank 17262
- innkeeper — a person who owns or manages an inn; frequency rank 20344
- brewer — the owner or manager of a brewery; frequency rank 20434
- seamstress — A woman who sews clothes professionally.; frequency rank 20853
- lackey — A footman, a liveried male servant.; frequency rank 21982
- shoemaker — a person who makes or repairs shoes; frequency rank 22346
- sabbatical — an extended period of authorized leave from regular work, often for study, travel, or research; frequency rank 23376
- lumberjack — a person whose work is to fell trees.; frequency rank 23915
- barmaid — chiefly British: a woman who serves drinks in a bar or pub; frequency rank 25100
- servitude — state of subjection to an owner or master or forced labor imposed as punishment; frequency rank 28363
- goldsmith — a craftsperson who makes, repairs, or sells objects made of gold, especially jewelry; frequency rank 28572
- nursemaid — a woman or girl employed to look after young children; frequency rank 30842
- gamekeeper — a person employed to manage game animals and their habitat on an estate, especially for hunting; frequency rank 31108
- workroom — a room equipped or set aside for practical, manual, or creative work; frequency rank 31994
- redundancy — The loss of a job because the work is no longer needed, or the act of dismissing such workers.; frequency rank 32565
- bonne — a French nursemaid or children's governess, especially in an English-speaking household; frequency rank 32589
- gravedigger — a person employed to dig graves and prepare them for burial; frequency rank 33204
- woodman — a person whose work is cutting trees or chopping and preparing wood; frequency rank 34979
- purser — a senior crew member on a passenger ship or aircraft responsible for passengers and administrative matters; frequency rank 35211
- bricklayer — a craftsman skilled in building with bricks; frequency rank 35267
- vocational — Relating to a job, or to the skills and training needed for a particular kind of work.; frequency rank 35379
- tradesman — a merchant who owns or manages a shop; frequency rank 37011
- horner — historical: a craftsperson who works animal horn into combs, vessels, handles, or other goods; frequency rank 37029
- gaucho — a skilled horseman and cattle worker of the South American pampas, especially in Argentina and Uruguay; frequency rank 37932
- workday — a day on which a person normally works rather than taking time off; frequency rank 38151
- watchmaker — a craftsperson or company that makes, maintains, or repairs watches; frequency rank 39053
- fishmonger — a person whose trade is selling fish and seafood; frequency rank 39068
- biographer — a person who writes an account of someone else's life, especially as a profession; frequency rank 40399
- entomologist — a scientist who specializes in the study of insects; frequency rank 46239
- taskmaster — a person who imposes hard, continuous, or exacting work on others; frequency rank 48705
- drudge — a person made to do hard, dull, or menial work; frequency rank 49128
- drover — a person who drives cattle, sheep, or other livestock, especially over a long distance; frequency rank 49358
- laundress — a woman employed to wash and iron clothes; now dated; frequency rank 49929
- furrier — a person who prepares, makes, repairs, or sells garments and other goods made of fur; frequency rank 54819
- gunsmith — a craftsperson who makes, modifies, maintains, or repairs firearms; frequency rank 56843
- engraver — a craftsperson or artist who cuts words or designs into a hard surface, or prepares engraved plates for printing; frequency rank 57561
- washerwoman — historical: a woman employed to wash other people's clothes and household linen; frequency rank 57736
- teamster — a person who drives a team of draft animals, especially while hauling a wagon or freight; frequency rank 58417
- scribbler — historical textile work: a worker who coarsely cards or teases wool before spinning; frequency rank 59575
- cowherd — a person whose work is tending and herding cattle; frequency rank 61706
- piecework — work for which payment is based on the number of items or units produced rather than the time spent; frequency rank 63740
- indolence — Habitual laziness; a dislike of work or effort.; frequency rank 65615
- goatherd — a person who tends, guards, and guides a herd of goats; frequency rank 70569
- wheelwright — a craftsperson who builds and repairs wheels, especially traditional wooden spoked wheels; frequency rank 72520
- scullion — historical: a low-ranking kitchen servant who performed menial work such as cleaning pots and dishes; frequency rank 72890
- farrier — a craftsperson who trims and shoes horses' hooves; frequency rank 72965
- majordomo — historical: the chief servant or steward in a wealthy or royal household; frequency rank 73660
- navvy — a laborer employed in heavy excavation or construction work, especially on canals, roads, or railways; chiefly British and historical; frequency rank 76864
- pedlar — someone who travels about selling his wares (as on the streets or at carnivals); frequency rank 78281
- dustman — a person employed to collect household refuse; an old-fashioned British term for a refuse collector; frequency rank 79491
- charwoman — a woman hired, traditionally by the day or hour, to clean a house or other building; dated; frequency rank 82698
- stonecutter — a person who cuts, carves, or dresses stone; frequency rank 93563
- ostler — historically, a worker at an inn or stable who cared for travelers' horses; frequency rank 94807
- lamplighter — A person employed to light streetlights at dusk and snuff them at dawn.; frequency rank 97282
- shipwright — a craftsperson who builds or repairs ships, especially wooden ones; frequency rank 99756
- millwright — historical: a craftsperson who designs, builds, or repairs mills and their machinery; frequency rank 108286
- carder — a worker who cards wool or other fiber, disentangling and aligning it before spinning; frequency rank 110468
- ratcatcher — a person employed to catch or destroy rats and other vermin; frequency rank 117032
- commissionaire — chiefly British, historical: a uniformed attendant or doorman at a hotel, theater, office, or other public building; frequency rank 126058
- métier — an occupation or field of work for which a person is particularly well suited; frequency rank 132561
- directress — A female director.; frequency rank 135518
- currier — a craftsperson who dresses and finishes tanned leather by scraping, softening, coloring, and treating it; frequency rank 138594
- distiller — a person who makes distilled spirits or purifies liquids by distillation; frequency rank 144971
- pieman — a man who makes or sells pies, especially a street vendor; frequency rank 146238
- bootmaker — a craftsperson or manufacturer who makes boots; frequency rank 149449
- computerize — To start using computers to do a job or run a system that was once done by hand.; frequency rank 157825
- woodchopper — a person whose work is cutting trees or chopping wood; frequency rank 161307
- slavey — dated, informal, and often offensive: a female domestic servant who performs general or menial household work; frequency rank 168877
- costumier — a person or company that designs, makes, supplies, or hires out costumes, especially for theatre; frequency rank 171287
- ambassadress — dated: a female ambassador or a woman acting as an emissary; frequency rank 177438
- shikari — a hunter or skilled tracker, especially in the Indian subcontinent; frequency rank 188205
- coppersmith — a craftsperson who makes or repairs objects of copper; frequency rank 190058
- ploughboy — historical: a boy employed to guide draught animals pulling a plough or to assist a ploughman; frequency rank 199064
- shoemaking — the craft, trade, or process of making shoes; frequency rank 212131
- raftsman — dated: a person who operates, travels on, or works aboard a raft; frequency rank 222221
- costermonger — a street vendor who sells fruit and vegetables from a cart, barrow, or stall; frequency rank 226589
- heaver — a worker who lifts or carries heavy freight, especially at a dock; frequency rank 234825
- dairymaid — historical: a woman or girl employed to milk cows and perform other dairy work; frequency rank 240376
- artel — a traditional Russian or Soviet cooperative association of workers or craftspeople; frequency rank 254211
- pastrycook — a cook or shopkeeper who specializes in pastries, cakes, and desserts; frequency rank 262985
- coadjutor — a person who works jointly with and assists another; a helper or colleague; frequency rank 293770
- parlourmaid — historical: a domestic maid responsible for receiving visitors, serving meals, and caring for reception rooms; frequency rank 309103
- hydrographer — a specialist who surveys, measures, and charts oceans, rivers, coasts, and other bodies of water, especially for navigation; frequency rank 321711
- gunmaker — One who manufactures guns.; frequency rank 341452
- potman — a man employed in a public house to serve drink, collect empty pots or glasses, and perform other tasks; frequency rank 344907
- roundsman — historically, a poor-law laborer sent in rotation by an English parish to work for local employers, with the parish supplementing the wage; frequency rank 471598
- stipendiary — receiving a fixed stipend or salary, especially for clerical, judicial, or public service; frequency rank 475021
- hosier — a person who makes or sells stockings, socks, and other hosiery; frequency rank 511592
- brickmaker — a person who makes bricks, especially by preparing clay and molding, drying, or firing it; frequency rank 544745
- whaleman — historical: a man employed in whaling, especially a crew member aboard a whaling ship; loosely, any whaler; frequency rank 584801
- harpooneer — historical whaling: a specialist who throws or fires the harpoon, typically stationed in the bow of a whaleboat; frequency rank 656470
- superannuate — to retire someone from service, often with a pension, because of age or infirmity; frequency rank 981126
- nurserymaid — historical, chiefly British: a female domestic servant employed to care for young children, often as an assistant to a nurse or nanny; frequency rank 1169441
- estanciero — in South America, especially Argentina and Uruguay: the owner or manager of an estancia, a large ranch or landed estate; frequency rank 1266257
- shopman — a man who owns, manages, or operates a shop; now chiefly historical; frequency rank 1408024
- maltster — a person or business that makes malt from grain, especially barley
- scissors-grinder — historical: a person, often an itinerant craft worker, who sharpens scissors and other cutting tools on a grinding wheel
- wool comber — a worker who combs wool to align its long fibers and remove short fibers before spinning
- fish curer — a person or business that preserves fish by salting, drying, smoking, pickling, or another curing process
- flax-dresser — a worker who prepares flax or hemp fiber for spinning by breaking, scutching, and hackling it
- saltmaker — a person or business that produces salt, especially by evaporating brine or seawater
- whitesmith — a craftsperson who works in tin, tinplate, or pewter; a tinsmith
- gasfitter — a tradesperson who installs, connects, maintains, or repairs gas pipes, fixtures, and appliances
- arriero — a muleteer or other person who transports goods using pack animals, especially in Spanish-speaking regions

### C2+
- inventress — dated: a woman who invents; a female inventor; frequency rank 472421
- shopboy — historical: a boy or young male assistant employed in a shop; frequency rank 537674
- porkman — a person who produces and sells pork.; frequency rank 1165049
- undertaking — a task or project, especially a difficult one; a formal pledge
- avocation — a hobby or minor occupation pursued alongside one's main vocation
- accede — to agree to a request, or to assume an office
- derivative — imitative of others' work; a thing based on another source
- firing — the act of discharging a weapon, dismissing staff, or baking pottery
- incompatible — unable to exist or work together harmoniously
- abridgment — a shortened version of a written work; a condensation
- accession — the attainment of a rank, office, or throne
- botch — to spoil through clumsiness; a bungled piece of work
- bungle — to carry out clumsily or incompetently; a botched job
- hustle — to move or work energetically; to push or jostle
- journeyman — a trained worker qualified in a trade; a competent but unremarkable performer
- managerial — relating to the work or skills of a manager
- absenteeism — the habitual practice of being absent from work or duty
- bishopric — the office or diocese of a bishop
- depose — to remove from office or power; to testify under oath
- entropy — a measure of disorder or of energy unavailable for work in a system
- fag — a tiring or tedious task; (British informal) a cigarette
- furtherance — the advancement or promotion of a plan or interest
- hobo — a migratory worker or homeless vagrant, especially one riding trains
- insinuate — to suggest indirectly; to introduce or work in subtly
- jobless — without paid employment; unemployed
- jut — to extend or project sharply beyond a surface
- opus — an artistic work, especially a musical composition numbered in a composer's output
- overture — an orchestral introduction to a larger work, or an opening approach or proposal
- presidentship — the office or term of a president
- protuberate — to bulge out or project beyond a surface
- sus — suspicious or suspect; to suspect or work something out
- vocation — a strong sense of suitability for a particular career or calling
- beetle — an insect with hardened forewings; also to project or overhang
- benchfellow — one who shares a bench; a companion or colleague (archaic)
- bravo — a shout of approval; also a hired assassin or daring villain
- cabdriving — the occupation of driving a taxicab
- calling — a strong inner urge toward a vocation or profession
- chancellery — the office, staff, or residence of a chancellor
- confrere — a fellow member of a profession or association; a colleague
- employable — having skills or qualities that make one suitable for work
- examinership — the office or process by which an insolvent company is placed under court protection
- featherbed — to pamper, or to overstaff a job by enforcing wasteful labor practices
- grillwork — ornamental work made of crossed metal bars
- groundwork — the preliminary work that forms a foundation
- imitator — one who copies the behavior or work of another
- inauguration — the formal ceremony marking the start of an office or undertaking
- investiture — the formal ceremony of conferring rank, office, or authority
- jean — a heavy twilled cotton cloth used for work clothes
- licensure — the granting of a license, especially to practice a profession
- occupationless — having no job, profession, or regular activity
- plasterwork — decorative or structural work made of plaster, especially on walls and ceilings
- plumbery — the trade or work of a plumber; plumbing
- powwow — a Native American gathering or ceremony; an informal meeting for discussion
- severance — the act of ending or separating; pay given on termination of employment
- swink — to labour or toil hard; archaic word for hard work
- temp — a temporary employee, especially in an office
- tenancy — the possession or occupation of land or property by rental tenure
- unionization — the process of forming or joining a labor union
- unionize — to organize workers into a labor union
- workfellow — a fellow worker; a colleague
- workless — without work; unemployed
- coal-heaver — a worker who carries or unloads coal
- aulnager — Alternative form of alnager.
- woodsawyer — a worker whose occupation is sawing wood or timber
- apir — historical, Chilean mining: a worker who carried broken ore from an underground mine to the surface in a leather pack on the back
- neatherd — archaic: a person who tends cattle or oxen; a cowherd
- ice cutter — historical: a worker who cuts and harvests blocks of natural ice from a frozen lake, pond, or river
- knife grinder — a person whose trade is sharpening knives and other edged tools, traditionally while traveling from place to place
- ploughwright — a craftsperson who makes or repairs ploughs
- coal-whipper — historical: a dock worker who unloaded coal from a ship's hold using a rope-and-counterweight hoisting system
- corn chandler — British, historical: a retailer or merchant dealing in cereal grain, seeds, animal feed, and related agricultural goods
- teataster — a professional who samples, evaluates, and grades tea for quality, flavor, aroma, or blending
- house-parlourmaid — historical British: a female domestic servant who combined the cleaning duties of a housemaid with the table service and reception duties of a parlourmaid
- coalheaver — historical: a laborer employed to unload, carry, or shovel coal
- gownsman — a member of a profession traditionally marked by a gown, especially a cleric, lawyer, or university member