make-work

American  

[meyk-wurk] / ˈmeɪkˌwɜrk /

noun

1. work, usually of little importance, created to keep a person from being idle or unemployed.

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make-work Cultural  

1. Publicly provided employment that is designed primarily to relieve unemployment and only incidentally to accomplish important tasks. If private employers are hiring few people because of a business slump, the government can “make work” for people to do.

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Etymology

Origin of make-work

1935–40, noun use of verb phrase make work

Example Sentences

Only this group included his wife, his brother and his personal lawyer, the latter two having been given some kind of make-work jobs at the Pentagon.

From Salon • Apr. 21, 2025

A similar move here and bam – debt would be paid, make-work tolls could be gone, Seattle waterfront saved.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 19, 2022

“But it’s hard not to conclude that some shuttle missions have felt like make-work projects undertaken more to keep astronauts in orbit rather than because they were essential.”

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 3, 2022

The truth is, the State Department, like every other executive department, suffers from redundancies and make-work jobs.

From Washington Post • Jul. 6, 2017

And the worst thing was that even with our make-work projects, we didn’t really have enough to do.

From "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien