Noun

(en noun)

A promise or vow made on entering a religious order.

She died only a few years after her profession .

* 1796 , Matthew Lewis, The Monk , Folio Society 1985, p. 27:

Rosario was a young novice belonging to the monastery, who in three months intended to make his profession .

A declaration of belief, faith or of one's opinion.

Despite his continued professions of innocence, the court eventually sentenced him to five years.

An occupation, trade, craft, or activity in which one has a professed expertise in a particular area; a job, especially one requiring a high level of skill or training.

My father was a barrister by profession .

The practitioners of such an occupation collectively.

His conduct is against the established practices of the legal profession .

Noun

(en noun)

A strong urge to become religious.

A job or occupation.

*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=70, magazine=(The Economist)

, title= Engineers of a different kind , passage=Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers. Piling debt onto companies’ balance-sheets is only a small part of what leveraged buy-outs are about, they insist. Improving the workings of the businesses they take over is just as core to their calling , if not more so. Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster.}}