jobsworth

British

/ ˈdʒɒbzˌwɜːθ /

noun

informal a person in a position of minor authority who invokes the letter of the law in order to avoid any action requiring initiative, cooperation, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of jobsworth

C20: from it's more than my job's worth to …

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's obsessed with his job. He does do it well, but he's a little bit of a jobsworth as well."

From BBC • Jun. 7, 2024

I was going to hike up to their cabin and it would be pot-luck whether they’d be an enthusiast and welcome me in or a grizzly jobsworth who’d tell me to get stuffed.

From The Guardian • Feb. 16, 2021

It was, of course, the most ridiculous red card of all time, the act of a petty jobsworth with nothing better to do.

From The Guardian • Apr. 19, 2013

But Dargan's beef is not with the office jobsworth – a figure whose fortitude might be seen as brave as much as infuriating.

From The Guardian • Jul. 26, 2012

Rather, it's a case of: "The mountain is being an overbearing, corporate jobsworth, insisting on change for change's sake."

From The Guardian • Feb. 20, 2011

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