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• job
  job

  noun

  a piece of work, especially a specific task done as part of the routine of one's occupation or for an agreed price.
• Job
  Job

  noun

  the central figure in an Old Testament parable of the righteous sufferer.

job

¹ American  

[job] / dʒɒb /

noun

• jobs
  plural

1. a piece of work, especially a specific task done as part of the routine of one's occupation or for an agreed price.

   She gave him the job of mowing the lawn.

2. a post of employment; full-time or part-time position.

   She was seeking a job as an editor.

3. anything a person is expected or obliged to do; duty; responsibility.

   It is your job to be on time.

4. an affair, matter, occurrence, or state of affairs.

   to make the best of a bad job.

5. the material, project, assignment, etc., being worked upon.

   The housing project was a long and costly job.

6. the process or requirements, details, etc., of working.

   It was a tedious job.

7. the execution or performance of a task.

   She did a good job.

8. Informal. a medical procedure or operation performed to improve the appearance of a specified part of the body (used in combination).

   a nose job; a boob job to enlarge her breasts.

9. Slang. a theft or similar criminal action.

   The police caught the gang that pulled that bank job.

10. a public or official act or decision carried through for the sake of improper private gain.

11. Slang. an example of a specific or distinctive type.

    That little six-cylinder job was the best car I ever owned.

    That guy sure is a good-looking job.

12. Computers. a unit of work for a computer, generally comprising an application program or group of related programs and the data, linkages, and instructions to the operating system needed for running the programs.

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verb (used without object)

jobbed, jobbing

1. to work at jobs or odd pieces of work; work by the piece.

2. to do business as a jobber.

3. to turn public business, planning, etc., improperly to private gain.

verb (used with object)

jobbed, jobbing

1. to assign or give (work, a contract for work, etc.) in separate portions, as among different contractors or workers (often followed byout ).

   He jobbed out the contract to a number of small outfits.

2. to buy in large quantities, as from wholesalers or manufacturers, and sell to dealers in smaller quantities.

   He jobs shoes in Ohio and Indiana.

3. to get rid of or dispose of.

   His party jobbed him when he sought a second term in office.

4. to swindle or trick (someone).

   They jobbed him out of his property.

5. to carry on (public or official business) for improper private gain.

adjective

1. of or for a particular job or transaction.

2. bought, sold, or handled together.

   He's too big a customer to buy in less than job quantities.

idioms

1. do a job on,

   1. to destroy, defeat, damage, or confound thoroughly.

      The thugs did a job on him—he'll be in the hospital for a month.

   2. to deceive, persuade, or charm glibly; snow.

2. on the job, alert; observant.

   The cops were on the job and caught them red-handed.

job ² American  

[job] / dʒɒb /

verb (used with or without object)

jobbed, jobbing

1. poke; thrust; punch.

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Job ³ American  

[johb] / dʒoʊb /

noun

1. the central figure in an Old Testament parable of the righteous sufferer.

2. a book of the Bible bearing his name.

3. a male given name: from a Hebrew word meaning “persecuted.”

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job ¹ British  

/ dʒɒb /

noun

1. an individual piece of work or task

2. an occupation; post of employment

3. an object worked on or a result produced from working

4. a duty or responsibility

   her job was to cook the dinner

5. informal a difficult task or problem

   I had a job to contact him

6. a state of affairs

   make the best of a bad job

   it's a good job I saw you

7. informal a damaging piece of work

   he really did a job on that

8. informal a crime, esp a robbery or burglary

9. informal an article or specimen

   the new car was a nice little job

10. an instance of jobbery

11. computing a unit of work for a computer consisting of a single complete task submitted by a user

12. appointments given to or created for allies or favourites

13. 1. actively engaged in one's employment

    2. taboo engaged in sexual intercourse

14. exactly what was required

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verb

1. (intr) to work by the piece or at casual jobs

2. to make a private profit out of (a public office, etc)

3. 1. to buy and sell (goods or services) as a middleman

      he jobs in government surplus

   2. to buy and sell stocks and shares as a stockjobber

      he jobs in blue chips

4. to apportion (a contract, work, etc) among several contractors, workers, etc

Job ² British  

/ dʒəʊb /

noun

1. Old Testament

   1. a Jewish patriarch, who maintained his faith in God in spite of the afflictions sent by God to test him

   2. the book containing Job's pleas to God under these afflictions, attempted explanations of them by his friends, and God's reply to him

2. any person who withstands great suffering without despairing

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Job Cultural  

1. In the Old Testament, a man whose faith was severely tested by Satan, with God's permission. Job was the most prosperous and happy of men, who faithfully praised God for God's goodness. In order to get him to curse God, Satan destroyed all that Job owned, killed his children, and struck Job himself with vile sores from head to foot. False friends of Job's suggested that he should abandon his beliefs (see Job's comforters). But even in absolute misery, Job would not curse God, saying instead, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away: blessed be the name of the Lord.” As a reward for his steadfast faith, God healed Job and “gave him twice as much as he had before.”

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job More Idioms  

1. see do a job on; hatchet man (job); lie down (on the job); on the job; put-up job; snow job; soft job.

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Synonym Usage

See task. See position.

Discover More

Figuratively, any long-suffering person can be said to be “as patient as Job.”

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• jobs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of job¹

First recorded in 1620–30; origin uncertain

Origin of job²

First recorded in 1475–1500; late Middle English jobben “to jab, thrust, peck, poke”; further origin uncertain

Explanation

Unless you win the lottery, you will probably need a job, or employment where you do work for pay. There are also non-paying jobs: it might be your job to wash the dishes after dinner. Job and work are often synonymous and unfortunately often have a negative connotation meaning “toil." Other meanings of job that are negative involve damaging events or crimes. When you wrecked your car, someone might have said, "You did a real job on that;" or, when you convinced your sister to hand over her allowance, you might have referred to it as a "con job."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

job Job jobs jobbed jobbing

Technical staffer Tarun Gogineni wrote on X in December 2022 that he knew artists were complaining about increased AI-generated competition, but viewed potential job losses as “acceptable economic disruption.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

In his first few months on the job, Warsh insisted the central bank would return the U.S. to an era of low inflation like the one that persisted before the pandemic.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026

Reselling became a side hustle for many and a full-time job for some.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

"I'd sleep outside if it meant getting a job wrestling one day. Honestly, it's my dream job," he added.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

I swipe at it and then look around for a handkerchief to better do the job.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Canva’s Global Job Seeker Survey showed that approximately 57% of job seekers used AI to create their resumes in 2024, while another survey from data firm Clutch put that number at 84% in 2026.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

Job losses and falling purchasing power have added to industry's woes by depressing consumer spending.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

For the Dodgers, Job 1 is to make sure he can hit in October.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

Companies that perform such services are tight-lipped on how operations are carried out, but it's fair to say the security measures and planning are extensive to avoid the risk of a real-life Italian Job.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

The topic had been the prophet Job and how his patience and devotion to Allah had persevered, no matter what calamity had befallen him—even when his body had been covered with painful sores.

From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai

L.A.-based analysts say the 2028 Olympics will supercharge revenue, jobs and taxes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

Hourly installation and maintenance jobs tied to data centers advertise pay about 42% higher than comparable roles elsewhere.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

Volkswagen’s supervisory board this month approved a plan to cut 100,000 jobs and halve its model portfolio, in part due to the strain of increasing competition.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

In return, the victims got poor quality digital photographs that stood no real chance of landing them professional jobs and most did not get paid modelling work.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Michael’s mother didn’t seem worried, but Michael knew she was too busy working three jobs to truly consider the implications of Y2K.

From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Then it may end up in an off-price channel or being jobbed out to another country, et cetera.

From The Verge ● Jul. 26, 2022

College football fans watching the game believed Tennessee got jobbed.

From Fox News ● Dec. 31, 2021

The Dodgers may have been jobbed out of two World Series championships, having lost to the Astros in seven games in 2017 and the Red Sox in five games in 2018.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 16, 2020

He got jobbed out in that goofy angle with Cena and The Rock at Wrestlemania 32.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2017

In ten minutes this commission is earned from the public, and this state sinking-fund joint stock jobbed.

From Old and New London Volume I by Walter Thornbury

Indeed, Liekhus is the first actor who was able to convince me that the character of Ma Rainey really is a professional, jobbing singer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

Many legendary leaders have successfully paired public praise with private criticism, and listening to McCullum in particular can inspire even a jobbing journalist to take on the world.

From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2025

"I've got 50 credits on IMDB," says Crawford, who describes himself as "a jobbing actor".

From BBC ● Jan. 1, 2025

He had previously appeared in several television shows as a jobbing actor - from Hollyoaks to Doctors and EastEnders.

From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2023

His musical efflorescence was tragically brief, but this is the man who turned the chord-strumming, jobbing electric guitar into a high-wire, virtuoso lead instrument, from also-ran to star turn.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Related Words

• activity
• appointment
• assignment
• business
• career
• office
• operation
• place
• position
• post
• profession
• situation
• spot
• stint
• task
• trade
• work