job

- definition

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Thesaurus

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noun

/dʒɒb/

singular	job
plural	jobs

Word sets

1
[countable] work that you do regularly to earn money. When you ask someone about their job, you usually say ‘What do you do?’, and not ‘What is your job?’ The answer would usually be ‘I am a ...’ or ‘I work as a...’, and not ‘My job is’...
job as:
She has a job as a restaurant manager.
apply for a job:
I’ve applied for several jobs without success.
get a job:
Andy got a holiday job at a factory in Bristol.
find a job (=get a job after looking for one):
Emma finally found a job in a bakery.
offer someone a job:
My son has been offered a job in Tokyo.
take a job (=accept a job):
I’ve taken a job at a hotel in the city centre.
do a job:
She’s very experienced – she’s been doing the job for years.
I could never do your job!
be in a job (=have a particular job):
I’ve been in this job for five years now.
leave your job:
Dan left his job after an argument with his boss.
jobs go (=are lost):
Over 2000 jobs will go in the shipbuilding industry.
lose your job:
Many steelworkers are worried that they’ll lose their jobs.
job losses:
The car industry has faced massive job losses.
out of a job (=without a job):
I could be out of a job if things don’t improve.
create jobs:
The new venture will create over 1500 jobs in the area.
job interview:
He’s attending a job interview this morning.
job opportunities/prospects:
There are not many job opportunities in this part of the country.
temporary/permanent job:
I’ve got a temporary job for six months.
part-time/full-time job:
Many students have part-time jobs.
top job (=an important or powerful job):
She holds one of the top jobs in the industry.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of job
Collocations: job
▪ dead-end, full-time, good, low-paid, menial, part-time, permanent, proper, semi-skilled, skilled, temporary, unskilled, well-paid
2
[countable] something that you have to do or deal with
The first job is to decide who to invite.
the job of doing something:
No one wanted the job of painting the ceiling.
do a job:
Our architects have done the job in record time.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of job
See also odd jobs
3
[singular] your duty in a particular situation or organization
it is someone’s job to do something:
It’s my job to welcome new members to the club.
It’s the job of teachers to give their students confidence.
take on a job (=start to do something as a duty):
When I took on the job, I didn’t know what it would involve.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of job
4
[countable] informal a crime, especially one in which money is stolen
a bank job
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of job
5
job
or
jobby
[countable] spoken something of a particular type
He’s bought one of those MP3 jobs.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of job
6
[countable] something that a computer, printer etc does
Your scan is the third job in the queue.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of job

phrases

be just the job
British spoken
used for saying that something is perfect for a particular purpose
If you’re looking for a compact digital camera, this one is just the job.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of job
do a good/great etc job
to do something very well
You’ve done a fantastic job of decorating the room.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of job
do a job on
very informal
to hurt someone, or to damage something
Between the two of them, they’d really done a job on him.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of job
do the job
spoken
if something does the job, you can use it for something, even if it was not designed for this
I think a paper clip will do the job.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of job
give something up as a bad job
British informal
to stop doing something because you do not think you will ever succeed
I tried to mend the bike myself, but in the end gave it up as a bad job.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of job
good job
mainly American spoken
used for telling someone that they have done something well
Good job on the painting!
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of job
have a job doing/to do something
British informal
to have difficulties doing something
We had quite a job finding your house.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of job
have a job on your hands
informal
to have a difficult piece of work to do
Whoever gets the post has a real job on their hands.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of job
(it’s a) good job
British
used for saying that it is lucky that you did something, or lucky that something happened
It’s a good job I remembered to bring an umbrella.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of job
it’s more than my job’s worth
British often humorous
used for saying that you will not do something because you would lose your job if you did it
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of job
jobs for the boys
British informal
jobs that someone gives to their friends
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of job
make a good/bad job of (doing) something
British
to do something well or badly
He made a terrible job of cutting my hair.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of job
make the best of a bad job
British informal
to accept a bad situation and deal with it in the best way that you can
They’re not going to change their minds, so we’ve got to make the best of a bad job.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of job
on the job
1. 1
  working at a particular job
  Jenkins was put on the job at the last minute.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of job
2. 2
  while you are working
  Trainee journalists soon learn the importance of deadlines, on the job.
  on-the-job training:
  young diplomats getting on-the-job training
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of job
3. 3
  British very informal having sex
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of job

Word sets: job

general

job what you do regularly to earn money, especially what you do for a particular company or person. A full-time job is a job that you do for at least the same number of hours a week as people usually work. A part-time job is a job that you do for fewer hours a week than people usually work: My first job was helping in a pet shop. ♦ a full-time bookkeeper ♦ He works full-time for the council. ♦ a part-time bartender ♦ I teach part-time now.

work something that you do to earn money, or the place where you go to do it: I’ve got a lot of work on at the moment. ♦ Dan’s at work.

career the jobs someone does over a period of time that involve a particular type of work: a long career in the civil service ♦ a medical career

profession a type of job that you need a lot of education or special training to do, or all the people who do a particular job like this: I’m a doctor by profession. ♦ the legal profession

occupation (formal) your usual job: What is your current occupation and salary?

post a particular job within a company or organization, especially a job with some responsibility: She applied for the post of Senior Marketing Manager at Cadbury Schweppes.

position a particular job: used especially in advertisements for available jobs: a vacancy for the position of night watchman

getting a job

apply to officially say, usually in a letter or on a special form, that you would like to be considered for a particular job

CV a list of your qualifications and work experience that you send to someone who you are hoping to work for

job seeker (formal) someone who is looking for a job

applicant someone who applies for a particular job

candidate someone who is competing with other people for a particular job

interview a meeting with the people you are hoping to work for where they ask you questions and find out more about you

interviewee an applicant who is asked to come for an interview

leaving a job

resign to officially say that you are going to leave your job

quit (informal) to leave a job

sack or fire to tell someone that they must leave their job, especially because their work is not good or they have done something wrong: She’s been fired for not meeting her sales targets.

make someone redundant to tell someone that they no longer have a job because they are not needed any more

retire to stop working, usually because you are old

not having a job

unemployed or jobless used for describing someone who does not have a job but who would like to have one: used also as a noun for referring to people in this position as a group: a jobless welder ♦ Her brother has been unemployed for over a year. ♦ measures to help the unemployed find work

out of work used for describing someone who does not have a job but who would like to have one: She’s been out of work for six months.

retired used for describing someone who is not working because they are old: a retired army officer

This is the British English definition of job. View American English definition of job.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to American English.

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job

What are red words?

Thesaurus

Related dictionary definitions

Menu

job

jobby

phrases

be just the job

do a good/great etc job

do a job on

do the job

give something up as a bad job

good job

have a job doing/to do something

have a job on your hands

(it’s a) good job

it’s more than my job’s worth

jobs for the boys

make a good/bad job of (doing) something

make the best of a bad job

on the job

showmance

Word of the Day

soapstone

human-readable