fare carriera

Italian

Etymology

Literally, “to make career”. Compare French faire carrière.

Verb

fàre carriera (first-person singular present fàccio carriera, first-person singular past historic féci carriera, past participle fàtto carriera, first-person singular imperfect facévo carriera, second-person singular imperative fài carriera or fà' carriera, auxiliary avére)

1. to reach the highest levels of a hierarchical order; to work one's way up
   • 2020, Barack Obama, chapter 22, in Chicca Galli, Paolo Lucca, Giuseppe Maugeri, transl., Una terra promessa, Garzanti Libri:

     Dopotutto, aveva fatto carriera proprio battendosi contro ogni forma di normativa federale...

     After all, he'd made a career of opposing any and all forms of government regulation...

     (literally, “After all, he'd worked his way up exactly by fighting against every form of federal regulation...”)