nine-to-five
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or during the workday, especially the hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. when offices are characteristically open for business.
the nine-to-five grind.
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of, reflecting, or exhibiting a lack of willingness to work beyond the required amount of time or with more than minimal effort.
With your nine-to-five mentality, you'll never get a promotion.
Other Word Forms
- nine-to-fiver noun
Etymology
Origin of nine-to-five
First recorded in 1955–60
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.
"I know for a fact that if I went into a normal nine-to-five job I wouldn't be able to afford my bills ."
From BBC
People are working full-time, working nine-to-five, then having to back it up with back-to-back trainings until 9pm.
From BBC
"Fishermen don't have nine-to-five jobs, they don't have lunchtime where they can just pop off their fishing boat and to the GP's office, and so it's really important that we take those services to them," says Sandra Welch, chief executive of the Seafarers Hospital Society, which runs the initiative along with another charity, the Fishermen's Mission.
From BBC
His solicitor said Fincham had "returned to a nine-to-five job" and also started boxing again.
From BBC
They have since gone their separate ways, with one in his first year at uni and the other working nine-to-five.
From BBC
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.
