glutton for punishment

Idioms

Someone who habitually takes on burdensome or unpleasant tasks or unreasonable amounts of work. For example, Rose agreed to organize the church fair for the third year in a row—she's a glutton for punishment. This expression originated as a glutton for work in the late 1800s, punishment being substituted about a century later.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Six is a perfect number, and seven is a prime number, but only a glutton for punishment would put them together in front of a bunch of 13-year-olds.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 14, 2025

Sheard is either a glutton for punishment or determined to prove his worth no matter how many times Narbonne has to start over.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 27, 2025

He is, if not quite a glutton for punishment, then at least someone with a hearty appetite for it.

From New York Times • Aug. 17, 2022

The last time I made it, this glutton for punishment asked his significant other to grade it.

From Washington Post • Jul. 14, 2021

People thought he was a glutton for punishment, that he liked getting dumped.

From "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023