From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishvocationvo‧ca‧tion /vəʊˈkeɪʃən $ voʊ-/ noun [countable, uncountable] 1 a) the feeling that the purpose of your life is to do a particular type of work, especially because it allows you to help other peoplevocation for Jan has a vocation for teaching. a strong sense of vocation You missed your vocation (=you would have been good at a particular job). b) a particular type of work that you feel is right for you At 17 she found her true vocation as a writer.2 BOPURPOSEa strong belief that you have been chosen by God to be a priest or a nun
Examples from the Corpus
vocation• Nursing is hard work and often low paid, but for many people it is a vocation.• Had vocation advisors been around they would doubtless have recommended a commercial future on the scientific side.• This was not the inspiration for her vocation.• At times the yoke of his vocation was almost unbearable, although there is no indication that he ever regretted assuming it.• As in the lives of many artists, illness revealed his vocation.• His real vocation was the river.• He was quite young when he decided he had a religious vocation.missed ... vocation• He thought he had missed his vocation and indeed he had.From Longman Business Dictionaryvocationvo‧ca‧tion /vəʊˈkeɪʃənvoʊ-/ noun [countable]JOB a job, especially one that involves helping people, that you do because you enjoy it or because you have a strong feeling that it is the purpose of your life to do itAs a nurse, she felt she had found her vocation.Sam had missed his vocation - he would have made a perfect lawyer.Origin vocation (1400-1500) Latin vocatio “call, summons”, from vocare “to call” 