Word of the Day

: July 9, 2008

career

verb kuh-REER

What It Means

: to go at top speed especially in a headlong manner

career in Context

The nervous passengers gripped their seats and exchanged anxious looks as the bus careered down the icy road.

Did You Know?

Chances are you're very familiar with the noun "career" meaning "a profession followed as a permanent occupation." What you may not know is that the word "career" got its start in the world of medieval tournaments. Jousting required knights to ride at full speed in short bursts, and 16th-century English speakers used the noun "career" (from Middle French "carriere") to refer to such gallops as well as to the courses knights rode. By the mid-17th century, the verb had acquired its general "go fast" meaning, and by the 19th century the noun had developed the workaday use that is common today. (In case you're wondering, "career" is not related to "careen," which also means "to move at high speed"; "careen" has nautical origins, tracing to the Latin word for "hull.")