jack-of-all-trades
Americannoun
plural
jacks-of-all-tradesnoun
Etymology
Origin of jack-of-all-trades
First recorded in 1610–20
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.
He could start by cutting the animated sequence in which Mary, her young charges and Bert, a local jack-of-all-trades, jump into one of Bert’s sidewalk chalk paintings.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025
He eventually ended up in Florida, where he became a jack-of-all-trades carny and developed a sharp instinct for advance publicity and promotion.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 3, 2025
Matthew Modine, who acted in “Full Metal Jacket,” remembers perceiving Vitali as kind of an “Igor” figure, a jack-of-all-trades.
From New York Times • Nov. 29, 2024
Daniels is generally considered more of a mid-round pick and could serve as a jack-of-all-trades depth piece in the immediate with room to grow.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 17, 2023
He was a jack-of-all-trades, breaking the sturdy little cow ponies, treating their injuries and illnesses, trimming their hooves, and bending over an anvil to forge their shoes.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
