odd-job

American  

[od-job] / ˈɒdˌdʒɒb /

verb (used without object)

odd-jobbed, odd-jobbing

1. to work at a series of unrelated or unspecialized jobs, often of a low-paying or menial nature.

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Other Word Forms

• odd jobber
  noun
• odd-jobber
  noun

Etymology

Origin of odd-job

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

To pay the family’s bills, his wife took in odd-job sewing work.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026

Panting heavily after digging the grave, shaking his head in dismay, local locksmith and odd-job man Urii Churachenko bent down and placed two cigarettes in the earth as a token for his friend.

From Reuters • Apr. 5, 2022

He was goaded into it by George Wigg, now an almost forgotten member of Harold Wilson's kitchen cabinet - his coterie of advisers, courtiers and odd-job men.

From BBC • Dec. 19, 2014

For some reason Midorikawa seemed to have taken a deep interest in this young odd-job worker.

From Slate • Jul. 27, 2014

"Lots," replied the odd-job man, pressing closer to the hedge.

From The Gay Adventure A Romance by Bird, Richard