man-day

[man-dey]

noun

plural

man-days 

1. a unit of measurement, especially in accountancy; based on a standard number of man-hours in a day of work.

Word History and Origins

Origin of man-day¹

First recorded in 1920–25

When To Use

What does man-day mean?

Man-day is a unit of measurement referring to the amount of work that one person does in one day.Man-day is often used in accounting and other business contexts, especially when estimating and budgeting for how much work it will take to complete a project, as well as how long it will take and how much it will cost. For example, if a team of three people takes two working days to finish a project, it takes six man-days.Of course, man-days don’t just count work done by men. A neutral alternative term for man-day is person-day.Example: We estimate that it will take about 150 man-days to complete the walkway, so make sure we budget for that.