McJob

American

[muhk-job] / məkˈdʒɒb /

noun

an unstimulating, low-wage job with few benefits, especially in a service industry.

McJob British

/ məkˈdʒɒb /

noun

informal a job that is poorly paid and menial

"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 McJob

1991, coined by Douglas Coupland (born 1961) in the novel Generation X

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.

She quipped that she has thought about taking a McJob to recapture her creative mojo, but instead she is launching an international concert tour.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 8, 2026

The story hangs on Ron Livingston’s Peter Gibbons, an unremarkable 20-something slouching through a McJob at a generically named bank software company called Initech.

From Salon • Mar. 1, 2024

In Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, Douglas Coupland defines a number of cultural phenomena in footnotes, including the phrase "McJob"

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2015

The next executive in charge of U.S. marketing will be in for quite a McJob.

From Chicago Tribune • Sep. 25, 2013

Until recently, hardly anyone tried to organise fast-food workers, because none of them intended to stay in a McJob for long.

From Economist • Sep. 5, 2013

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