Meaning & use
budding career
Last updated
Meaning
phrasecountable
A career that is just starting and seems likely to be successful.
Grammar: Countable noun phrase. Usually used with 'a' or 'her/his/their': a budding career.
Patterns
- a budding career
- her budding career
- a budding career in something
She moved to London to pursue her budding career in fashion.
His budding career as a chef was interrupted by the pandemic.
The award helped launch her budding career in journalism.
Common combinations
- launch a budding career
- The film launched his budding career in acting.
- a budding career in
- She has a budding career in software engineering.
- pursue a budding career
- He left home to pursue a budding career in music.
Synonyms and how they differ
- promising career
- Similar, but 'promising' focuses on future success, not on being new.
- emerging career
- More formal and often used for fields or industries, not personal jobs.
Opposites
Word family
- budding adjective
- Just beginning and showing talent: a budding writer.
Commonly confused: budding career or budding?
budding career vs budding
Do not confuse with 'budding' as a plant producing buds. In 'budding career', it means 'starting to develop'.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'budding career' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Budding' is an adjective used before the noun: 'a budding career'. It cannot come after the noun (option 1), be used as a verb (option 2), or be used after 'is' (option 3).
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “budding career”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.