What does oficio in Spanish mean?

What is the meaning of the word oficio in Spanish? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use oficio in Spanish.

The word oficio in Spanish means trade, function, service, sex trade, legal paper, officiate, notify in writing, act as, public defender, legal aid lawyer, learn the trade, ply the trade, tricks of the trade, look for something to do, go look for something to do, keep oneself busy, ex officio, officially, by trade, public defender, ex officio, occupational hazard, trade jargon, office jargon, hymn for the dead, by virtue of office, good-for-nothing, down-and-outer, legal size, work as a court appointed lawyer, work as a court appointed attorney. To learn more, please see the details below.

Listen to pronunciation

Meaning of the word oficio

trade

nombre masculino (profesión manual)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Ese anciano tiene el oficio de alfarero.
His trade is a potter.

function

nombre masculino (función)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
El ordenador es una antigualla, pero cumple su oficio.
The computer is old, but it serves its function.

service

nombre masculino (religión (misa)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
El sacerdote celebró el oficio.
The priest held the service.

sex trade

nombre masculino (prostitución)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
La calle estaba ocupada por las mujeres del oficio.
The street is filled with women of the sex trade.

legal paper

nombre masculino (AmL (papel: documentos oficiales) (paper size, official documents)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
La secretaria escribe todas las cartas en oficio.
The secretary writes all letters on legal paper.

officiate

verbo transitivo (celebrar acto religioso)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
El sacerdote que oficiaba la misa pidió por todos los fieles.
The priest officiating the mass prayed for all the faithful.

notify in writing

verbo transitivo (comunicar por escrito)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Oficiaron al interesado y le dieron plazo de recurso contra la resolución.
They notified the interested party in writing and gave him a deadline for appealing the resolution.

act as

(formal (actuar como)

El presidente del gobierno ofició de mediador entre la patronal y los sindicatos.
The president of the government acts as mediator between management and the unions.

public defender, legal aid lawyer

locución nominal con flexión de género (asistencia jurídica gratuita)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Desde que se recibió se ha dedicado a ser abogado de oficio.
Since graduation, he has dedicated himself to being a public defender.

learn the trade, ply the trade

locución verbal (experimentar, trabajar)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Juan aprendió el oficio de herrero observando a su abuelo.
Juan learned the trade of blacksmithing by watching his grandfather.

tricks of the trade

(trucos del oficio)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")

look for something to do, go look for something to do

locución interjectiva (CR, coloquial (para despedir)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
¡Déjeme en paz! ¡Busque oficio!

keep oneself busy

expresión (AmL (mantenerse ocupado)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Agarre una escoba y busque oficio, que no le pagamos para nada.

ex officio

locución adjetiva (oficial, de autoridad)

(adjective: Describes a noun or pronoun--for example, "a tall girl," "an interesting book," "a big house.")
Los informes de oficio se publican cada semana en la web del ministerio.
Ex officio reports are published weekly on the ministry's website.

officially

locución adverbial (de manera oficial)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")
Los ministros se reunieron de oficio para hablar de la crisis.

by trade

locución adjetiva (de profesión)

Es artista de oficio, pero también es ingeniero.
He is an artist by trade but he is also an engineer.

public defender

locución nominal con flexión de género (asistencia jurídica gratuita)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

ex officio

locución adverbial (en virtud del cargo) (legal)

(adjective: Describes a noun or pronoun--for example, "a tall girl," "an interesting book," "a big house.")
El director de la empresa es presidente de la junta ex oficio.
The director of the company is the ex officio president of the board.

occupational hazard

locución nominal masculina plural (molestias del trabajo) (euphemism)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Quemarse al cocinar son gajes del oficio.
Getting burned in the kitchen is an occupational hazard.

trade jargon, office jargon

(argot de una ocupación)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

hymn for the dead

nombre masculino (por los muertos)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
El féretro llegó a la iglesia y se rezó el oficio de difuntos.

by virtue of office

locución preposicional (por el cargo)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
El cura recibe ciertos privilegios por virtud de oficio.
The priest receives certain privileges by virtue of office.

good-for-nothing, down-and-outer

expresión (sin estudios ni trabajo) (colloquial)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Pablo es un hombre sin oficio ni beneficio.
Pablo is a good-for-nothing (or: down-and-outer).

legal size

locución adjetiva (hoja, papel) (paper)

(adjective: Describes a noun or pronoun--for example, "a tall girl," "an interesting book," "a big house.")
El tamaño oficio es más grande que el tamaño carta.

work as a court appointed lawyer, work as a court appointed attorney

locución verbal (justicia: asistencia gratuita) (US)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Trabaja en el turno de oficio porque quiere ayudar a los que no tienen dinero.
He works as a court appointed lawyer because he wants to help those who have no money.

Let's learn Spanish

So now that you know more about the meaning of oficio in Spanish, you can learn how to use them through selected examples and how to read them. And remember to learn the related words that we suggest. Our website is constantly updating with new words and new examples so you can look up the meanings of other words you don't know in Spanish.

Do you know about Spanish

Spanish (español), also known as Castilla, is a language of the Iberian-Romance group of the Romance languages, and the 4th most common language in the world according to Some sources, while others list it as a 2nd or 3rd most common language. It is the mother tongue of about 352 million people, and is spoken by 417 million people when adding its speakers as a language. sub (estimated in 1999). Spanish and Portuguese have very similar grammar and vocabulary; The number of similar vocabulary of these two languages is up to 89%. Spanish is the primary language of 20 countries around the world. It is estimated that the total number of speakers of Spanish is between 470 and 500 million, making it the second most widely spoken language in the world by number of native speakers.