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.
a post of employment; full-time or part-time position.
She was seeking a job as an editor.
anything a person is expected or obliged to do; duty; responsibility.
It is your job to be on time.
an affair, matter, occurrence, or state of affairs.
to make the best of a bad job.
the material, project, assignment, etc., being worked upon.
The housing project was a long and costly job.
the process or requirements, details, etc., of working.
It was a tedious job.
the execution or performance of a task.
She did a good job.
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.
Slang. a theft or similar criminal action.
The police caught the gang that pulled that bank job.
a public or official act or decision carried through for the sake of improper private gain.
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.
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.
to work at jobs or odd pieces of work; work by the piece.
to do business as a jobber.
to turn public business, planning, etc., improperly to private gain.
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.
to buy in large quantities, as from wholesalers or manufacturers, and sell to dealers in smaller quantities.
He jobs shoes in Ohio and Indiana.
to get rid of or dispose of.
His party jobbed him when he sought a second term in office.
to swindle or trick (someone).
They jobbed him out of his property.
to carry on (public or official business) for improper private gain.
of or for a particular job or transaction.
bought, sold, or handled together.
He's too big a customer to buy in less than job quantities.
do a job on,
to destroy, defeat, damage, or confound thoroughly.
The thugs did a job on him—he'll be in the hospital for a month.
to deceive, persuade, or charm glibly; snow.
on the job, alert; observant.
The cops were on the job and caught them red-handed.
the central figure in an Old Testament parable of the righteous sufferer.
a book of the Bible bearing his name.
a male given name: from a Hebrew word meaning “persecuted.”
an individual piece of work or task
an occupation; post of employment
an object worked on or a result produced from working
a duty or responsibility
her job was to cook the dinner
informal a difficult task or problem
I had a job to contact him
a state of affairs
make the best of a bad job
it's a good job I saw you
informal a damaging piece of work
he really did a job on that
informal a crime, esp a robbery or burglary
informal an article or specimen
the new car was a nice little job
an instance of jobbery
computing a unit of work for a computer consisting of a single complete task submitted by a user
appointments given to or created for allies or favourites
actively engaged in one's employment
taboo engaged in sexual intercourse
exactly what was required
(intr) to work by the piece or at casual jobs
to make a private profit out of (a public office, etc)
to buy and sell (goods or services) as a middleman
he jobs in government surplus
to buy and sell stocks and shares as a stockjobber
he jobs in blue chips
to apportion (a contract, work, etc) among several contractors, workers, etc
Old Testament
a Jewish patriarch, who maintained his faith in God in spite of the afflictions sent by God to test him
the book containing Job's pleas to God under these afflictions, attempted explanations of them by his friends, and God's reply to him
any person who withstands great suffering without despairing
Figuratively, any long-suffering person can be said to be “as patient as Job.”
First recorded in 1620–30; origin uncertain
First recorded in 1475–1500; late Middle English jobben “to jab, thrust, peck, poke”; further origin uncertain
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."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I drove to my job at a middle school, where more legal observers patrolled outside.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
But the car has been extremely good, the team has done an incredible job and, on my side, I try to maximise every opportunity I have.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Ms. Fujimori will be Peru’s eighth president in eight years and only the second during that time elected to the job.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Although few places are better than Hollywood at crafting a narrative and concealing what happens off-frame, a Los Angeles Times survey of job postings sheds light on what is happening offstage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
Even when I feared that using the recommendation would make it seem as though what he did was permissible or that he could pay for it by helping me get a job.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Job seekers like Thompson question whether some employers are truly hiring, despite what their job listings indicate.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
Spoiler alert, if you somehow avoided Homer in community college: Nobody, save biblical Job, has had more misery hurled at them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Job growth, which stalled at the end of last year, has firmed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
Her other sitcom credits in the 1980s and 90s included Executive Stress, No Job for a Lady and Next of Kin.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
He stayed at the Job Corps Center so he could provide a better life for his kids.
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
Puder’s schools provide tutoring, mentoring and flexible scheduling for teens who may have jobs or are parents themselves.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
After the 2008-09 financial crisis, people stayed in cities because that’s where good jobs were.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Disney’s ten or so AI jobs showed the century-old studio building out its AI research and production muscle, while protecting its vault of beloved characters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
It is part of a push by the country -- and others on the continent -- to add value domestically to raw materials to create jobs and lift export earnings.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
You and Papa lost your jobs; our neighbours lost their homes.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
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
Eakes, Sorsa and Dickey balance subtle humor with striking authenticity, whereas Garrison is a full-blown comic diva who seems to have jobbed in from one of Shore’s more farcical early plays — a tonal irregularity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 7, 2020
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
Benefices, great and small, were jobbed on every side between the popes, the kings, and the great nobles.
From A Short History of Scotland by Lang, Andrew
"I've got 50 credits on IMDB," says Crawford, who describes himself as "a jobbing actor".
From BBC ● Jan. 1, 2025
Foad, 29, describes himself as a "jobbing comedy writer" who won a scholarship to drama school before moving into scriptwriting.
From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2022
Peers in the House of Lords are due to debate a government plan later to bring back double jobbing.
From BBC ● Jan. 19, 2022
The practice of double jobbing or the dual mandate, was banned six years ago.
From BBC ● Jan. 19, 2022
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
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.
