temp
noun
an office worker hired, usually through an agency on a per diem basis, for a short period of time; a temporary worker.
temp
1 American
[temp]
/ tɛmp /
noun
-
temps
plural
verb (used without object)
-
temps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
temped,
past participle, past
-
temping
present participle
temp.
2
American
abbreviation
-
temperature.
-
temporary.
-
in the time of.
temp.
1
British
abbreviation
-
temperate
-
temperature
-
temporary
-
tempore
temp
2
British
/ tɛmp /
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
tempsimple
-
tempssimple
-
have tempedperfect
-
has tempedperfect
-
am tempingprogressive
-
are tempingprogressive
-
is tempingprogressive
-
have been tempingperfect progressive
-
has been tempingperfect progressive
Past
-
tempedsimple
-
had tempedperfect
-
was tempingprogressive
-
were tempingprogressive
-
had been tempingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of temp1
First recorded in 1930–35; by shortening
Origin of temp.2
From the Latin word tempore
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.
See Examples For:
She studied literature at university and joined Google in 2006 as an entry-level temp with no computer science degree.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
As a temp, he had no real title.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2026
"Whether that's putting in some sort of temporary structure or putting a temp track across the field alongside the landslide."
From BBC ● Mar. 3, 2026
In October, finally a flash of luck: Lee got a job through a temp agency collecting water payments at $17.30 an hour.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 27, 2025
Even the temp agency I had signed with had been unable to find me any type of consistent assignments, so I had no dependable income coming in.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
Don't overshoot the mark on the crust and accidentally let the interior temp. get away from you.
From Salon ● Feb. 21, 2025
Simply toss them with a bit of oil, some salt and whatever seasonings you like and/or have on hand, and roast at a medium-high temp. until they're browned and fragrant.
From Salon ● Nov. 19, 2022
A sign at the trailhead announced: “12 mile round trip temp. exceeds 100 F min. 1 gallon water per person/day no shade no water.”
From Washington Post ● Apr. 30, 2015
Sunday, July 19th.—Minimum temp. last night 38 degrees.
From Woman's Way Through Unknown Labrador by Mina Benson Hubbard
Every successful novelist up to his time had, whatever his ostensible "temp. of tale," quietly assumed the thoughts, the speech, the manners, even to a great extent the dress and details of his own day.
From A History of Nineteenth Century Literature (1780-1895) by George Saintsbury
Each resort is very, very different and the weather pattern and the temps can be completely distinct.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
“Laissez les bons temps rouler” is as relevant to younger investors as Warren Buffett’s advice to be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful has been to older generations.
From Barron's ● Apr. 15, 2026
Denver has seen temps in the 60s this week.
From Slate ● Feb. 25, 2026
If companies hired fewer temps than they usually do, the seasonal adjustments applied by the BLS could make the employment picture look a lot worse in November than it really is.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 15, 2025
“Says the girl sitting outside in subglacial temps while the vampires are out looking for a snack with sprinkles.”
From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone
One reason the stock market has performed so much better in recent years is that investors weren’t being temped by yields in the bond market, which have been lousy.
From MarketWatch ● May 22, 2026
Schneider had temped all of these great songs into the picture, but hadn’t licensed any of them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2019
DiGregorio took the bag and headed for FultonFishMarket.com’s receiving station, where the fish would be scanned, weighed, temped, assigned a bar code, and Cryovac-sealed.
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 1, 2019
Ron: I temped for a bunch of years, that was my thing, that was my day job before doing “Office Space.”
From Salon ● Mar. 11, 2019
She asked that I remind her to bring along a young blonde who temped at the office to be in the throng the next day.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
I moved in with friends over the summer and started temping to make money.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 27, 2026
Maybe I’ll be a teacher, I could go back to temping ...
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2023
I went to his office where he was temping and practiced walking and reading lines, and he said, “See, you can do it.”
From Washington Post ● Apr. 14, 2022
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the bill Tuesday after agreeing to changes including prohibiting the sale of chilled beer or wine that might be more temping to drink on the way home.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 28, 2020
She’s spent the past summer temping, working for two months in the business office of an expensive midtown hotel.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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.
