oc·cu·pa·tion ( k y -p  shn)n. 1. a. An activity that serves as one's regular source of livelihood; a vocation. b. An activity engaged in especially as a means of passing time; an avocation. 2. a. The act or process of holding or possessing a place. b. The state of being held or possessed. 3. a. Invasion, conquest, and control of a nation or territory by foreign armed forces. b. The military government exercising control over an occupied nation or territory. [Middle English occupacioun, from Old French occupacion, from Latin occup ti , occuptin-, from occuptus, past participle of occupre, to occupy; see occupy.] |
occupation [ˌɒkjʊˈpeɪʃən]
Occupation
costermonger A street-vendor, a hawker of fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, etc.; also simply coster. This British expression comes from the earlier costardmonger ‘apple-seller’ (costard ‘a large, ribbed variety of apple’ + monger ‘dealer, trader’). It has been in use since 1514.
flatfoot A police officer. This expression, in widespread use since the early 20th century, implies that a police officer on a beat becomes flatfooted from walking. Flatfoot and other expressions of derision became firmly entrenched in American speech during the Prohibition era (1920-33) when the general public was particularly contemptuous of those who enforced the law.
He got sore as a boil and stepped up to the lousy flatfoot. (J. T. Farrell, Studs Lonigan, 1932)
flesh-tailor A surgeon. The derivation of this British colloquialism is obvious.
free-lance An unaffiliated person who acts on his own judgment; a writer or journalist who submits work to various publishers without actually being employed by any of them; a person hired on a part-time or temporary basis to perform tasks for which he has been specially trained. This expression dates from the Middle Ages when, after the Crusades, bands of knights offered their services to any country that was willing to pay. Also known as mercenaries or free companies, these bands were commonly called free-lances in reference to their knightly weapon, the lance. Eventually the term was applied to unaffiliated politicians. In contemporary usage, however, a free-lancer is anyone (though usually a writer) who offers his services on a temporary basis with payment upon completion of the work, as opposed to payment in the form of a salary or retainer.
If they had to rely on the free-lance articles … they could close down tomorrow. (Science News, 1950)
gandy dancer Railroad slang for a section hand or tracklayer. The term, in use as early as 1923, derives from the rhythmic motions of railroad workers who laid tracks with tools made by the now defunct Gandy Manufacturing Company of Chicago.
ghost writer A person who is paid to write a speech, article, or book—particularly an autobiography—for another, usually more famous person who receives and accepts credit for its authorship; a hack writer. This expression alludes to the classic definition of ghost ‘an unseen spirit or being existing among living persons.’ The implication is that though a ghost writer exists, his presence is hidden from the general public; thus, his existence is unknown or unrecognized. A back formation is to ghostwrite or to ghost ‘to write for another who accepts credit for the work.’
The autobiographical baloney ghost-written by Samuel Crowther for Ford … (New Republic, February 10, 1932)
gumshoe A detective, plainclothesman, or police officer; so called from the rubber-soled shoes reputedly worn by those gentlemen in order to assure noiseless movement. Consequently gumshoe can also be used as a verb meaning ‘to move silently; to sneak, skulk, or pussyfoot.’
ink-slinger A disparaging appellation for a writer, especially one who writes for his livelihood; also ink-jerker, -spiller, or -shedder. The reference is probably to a newspaper writer under such pressure to finish an article by a specified deadline that he “slings” the ink onto the paper without regard for the quality of writing. This American slang term dates from the latter half of the 19th century. The noun ink-slinging appeared in The Spectator (November, 1896):
There is … no picturesque ink-slinging, as the happy American phrase goes.
pencil pusher An office worker who does a considerable amount of writing. This U.S. slang term is a disparaging comment on the lack of productive labor in office work. The phrase also implies that such work is menial and mechanical.
The number of pencil pushers and typists has increased in the past 25 years out of proportion to the increase in factory workers. (Sam Dawson, AP wire story, July 9, 1952)
sawbones A surgeon; any doctor. The allusion in this term is gruesomely obvious.
“What, don’t you know what a Sawbones is, sir,” enquired Mr. Weller; “I thought every body know’d as a Sawbones was a surgeon.” (Charles Dickens, Pickwick Papers, 1837)
shrink A psychiatrist or psychoanalyst. This derogatory expression is a shortening of headshrinker, which may have been coined by analogy to the primitive tribal custom, practised by medicine men, of shrinking a decapitated head by removing the skull and stuffing the skin with hot sand.
You talk like one of those head-shrinkers—a psychiatrist. (S. McNeil, High-Pressure Girl, 1957)
- aptronym - A name that fits a person's nature or occupation, like Jane House for a real estate agent.
- mechanical - Predates "machine" in English and has long had certain separate senses, such as "an art, trade, or occupation: concerned with manual work" and "practical as opposed to theoretical."
- specialization, specialty - Specialization refers to the process of becoming specialized; specialty refers to a special pursuit, occupation, or product.
- study - Based on Latin studium, "painstaking application, zeal" (from studere, "to be zealous"), study's earliest uses are surprising: "affection, friendliness," an "occupation or pursuit," and "a state of reverie or abstraction; state of perplexity."
| Noun | 1. |  occupation - the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money; "he's not in my line of business"activity - any specific behavior; "they avoided all recreational activity" confectionery - the occupation and skills of a confectioner sport - the occupation of athletes who compete for pay farming, land - agriculture considered as an occupation or way of life; "farming is a strenuous life"; "there's no work on the land any more" employment, work - the occupation for which you are paid; "he is looking for employment"; "a lot of people are out of work" appointment - the job to which you are (or hope to be) appointed; "he applied for an appointment in the treasury" berth, billet, post, situation, position, office, place, spot - a job in an organization; "he occupied a post in the treasury" craft, trade - the skilled practice of a practical occupation; "he learned his trade as an apprentice" profession - an occupation requiring special education (especially in the liberal arts or sciences) metier, medium - an occupation for which you are especially well suited; "in law he found his true metier" accountancy, accounting - the occupation of maintaining and auditing records and preparing financial reports for a business photography - the occupation of taking and printing photographs or making movies catering - providing food and services |
| 2. |  occupation - the control of a country by military forces of a foreign powersocial control - control exerted (actively or passively) by group action armed forces, armed services, military, military machine, war machine - the military forces of a nation; "their military is the largest in the region"; "the military machine is the same one we faced in 1991 but now it is weaker" | |
| 3. | occupation - any activity that occupies a person's attention; "he missed the bell in his occupation with the computer game" activity - any specific behavior; "they avoided all recreational activity" | |
| 4. |  occupation - the act of occupying or taking possession of a building; "occupation of a building without a certificate of occupancy is illegal"acquiring, getting - the act of acquiring something; "I envied his talent for acquiring"; "he's much more interested in the getting than in the giving" preoccupancy, preoccupation - the act of taking occupancy before someone else does | |
| 5. | occupation - the period of time during which a place or position or nation is occupied; "during the German occupation of Paris" period, period of time, time period - an amount of time; "a time period of 30 years"; "hastened the period of time of his recovery"; "Picasso's blue period" |
occupation
what is his occupation? → ¿cuál es su profesión?
he's a joiner by occupation → es carpintero de profesión
it gives occupation to 50 men → emplea a 50 hombres, proporciona empleo a 50 hombres
a harmless enough occupation → un pasatiempo inocente
this will give some occupation to your mind → esto te mantendrá la mente ocupada
army of occupation → ejército m de ocupación
the occupation of Paris → la ocupación de París
under (military) occupation → ocupado por el ejército
to be in occupation → ocupar
we found them already in occupation → vimos que ya se habían instalado allí
the house is ready for occupation → la casa está lista para habitar
a house unfit for occupation → una casa inhabitable, una casa carente de las condiciones mínimas de habitabilidad
everyone, irrespective of age, sex or occupation → tout le monde, sans distinction d'âge, de sexe ou de profession
Riding was her favourite occupation → L'équitation était son occupation favorite.
unfit for occupation [house] → impropre à l'habitation
to be in multiple occupation [house] → être destiné à l'habitation collective
he's a joiner by occupation → è falegname di mestiere
army of occupation → esercito d'occupazione
the occupation of Paris → l'occupazione di Parigi
the house is ready for occupation → la casa è pronta per essere abitata
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