Wiktionary

job

See also: Job, jòb, and Jòb

English Edit

Etymology Edit

From the phrase jobbe of work (“piece of work”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from a variant of Middle English gobbe (“mass, lump”); or perhaps related to Middle English jobben (“to jab, thrust, peck”), or Middle English choppe (“piece, bargain”). More at gob, jab, chop.

Folk etymology linked the word to Job, the biblical character who suffered many misfortunes; for semantic development of misery and labor, compare Vulgar Latin *tripaliāre (“torture”) and its Romance descendants like Spanish trabajar and French travailler (whence English travail).

Pronunciation Edit

Noun Edit

job (plural jobs)

  1. A task.
    I've got a job for you - could you wash the dishes?
  2. An economic role for which a person is paid.
    That surgeon has a great job.
    He's been out of a job since being made redundant in January.
    • 1984, Johnny Marr & Morrissey (lyrics and music), “Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now”, in Hatful of Hollow, performed by The Smiths:
      I was looking for a job and then I found a job / And heaven knows I'm miserable now
    • 2013 August 10, Schumpeter, “Cronies and capitols”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:
      Policing the relationship between government and business in a free society is difficult. Businesspeople have every right to lobby governments, and civil servants to take jobs in the private sector.
    • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
      Here I am at my new job!
      Audio (US)(file)
  3. (in noun compounds) Plastic surgery.
    He had a nose job.
  4. (in noun compounds) A sex act.
    hand job
  5. (computing) A task, or series of tasks, carried out in batch mode (especially on a mainframe computer).
  6. (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:) A sudden thrust or stab; a jab.
  7. A public transaction done for private profit; something performed ostensibly as a part of official duty, but really for private gain; a corrupt official business.
  8. (informal) A robbery or heist.
    a bank job
    • 2010, J. Lamar, Honor, Deception and Justice, page 53:
      This freak Vernon got the intelligence on the safe job and passed it on to some other freak, a guy that hears voices in his head and talks back to them. […] We don't think [Vernon's squeeze] is in on the heist, but she apparently is in love with this creep who is laying the pipe in her trough!
  9. Any affair or event which affects one, whether fortunately or unfortunately.
  10. (colloquial) A thing or whatsit (often used in a vague way to refer to something whose name one cannot recall).
    Pass me that little job with the screw thread on it.
    • 1936, Proceedings of the annual meeting of the American Warehousemen's Association, volume 45, page 376:
      One of them was about nine years ago when I stood in white tie and tails beside a little blonde job (laughter and applause) down in front of the First Methodist Church of Birmingham, […]
  11. (UK, slang, law enforcement) The police as a profession, act of policing, or an individual police officer.[1]
    • 2018 February 11, Colin Dexter, Russell Lewis, 14:17 from the start, in Endeavour(Cartouche), season 5, episode 2 (TV series), spoken by DS Endeavour Morse (Shaun Evans):
      “He was ex-job, Beavis. Detective sergeant out of County, Banbury, retired in ‘59.”
    • 2018 July 24, Chris Merritt, Last Witness:A Gripping Crime Thriller You Won’t Be Able To Put Down:
      But there it was on the screen: The personal details of his old colleague from Kennington station in the late nineties. […] She’s job. We used to work together.
    • 2022 February 9, Daragh Carville, Richard Clark, Furquan Akhtar, 01:33 from the start, in The Bay, season 3, episode 5, spoken by D.S Jenn Townsend (Marsha Thomason):
      “I’m job, D.S Townsend. I have to report a missing person.”

Usage notes Edit

  • Adjectives often applied to "job": easy, hard, poor, good, great, excellent, decent, low-paying, steady, stable, secure, challenging, demanding, rewarding, boring, thankless, stressful, horrible, lousy, satisfying, industrial, educational, academic.

Translations Edit

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Verb Edit

job (third-person singular simple present jobs, present participle jobbing, simple past and past participle jobbed)

  1. (intransitive) To do odd jobs or occasional work for hire.
    • a. 1852, Thomas Moore, Literary Advertisement:
      Authors of all work, to job for the season.
  2. (intransitive) To work as a jobber.
  3. (intransitive, professional wrestling slang) To take the loss.
  4. (transitive, trading) To buy and sell for profit, as securities; to speculate in.
  5. (transitive, often with out) To subcontract a project or delivery in small portions to a number of contractors.
    We wanted to sell a turnkey plant, but they jobbed out the contract to small firms.
  6. (intransitive) To seek private gain under pretence of public service; to turn public matters to private advantage.
    • 1733, Alexander Pope, Epistle to Bathurst:
      And judges job, and bishops bite the town.
  7. To strike or stab with a pointed instrument.
  8. To thrust in, as a pointed instrument.
    • 1677–1683, Joseph Moxon, “(please specify the page)”, in Mechanick Exercises, or The Doctrine of Handy-Works, […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: […] Joseph Moxon, published 1678–1683, →OCLC:
      And while the Tympan is coming , he slips his Left Hand Fingers from under the Frisket to the hither outer corner of it , as well to keep the Sheet close to the Tympan in its position , as to avoid the jobbing of the lower side of the Frisket against the small square shoulder
  9. To hire or let in periods of service.
    to job a carriage

Derived terms Edit

Terms derived from the noun or verb job

Translations Edit

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

See also Edit

References Edit

  1. ^ Eric Partridge (2013), “job”, in Tom Dalzell and Terry Victor, editors, The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, volume I–II, 2nd edition, Abingdon, Oxon.; New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 1274: “the job¶ the police (as a profession) UK”.

Anagrams Edit

Chinese Edit

Etymology Edit

From English job.

Pronunciation Edit

Noun Edit

job

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) job (a non-permanent job, from which one is paid); tasks in one's work (Classifier: 單／单 c; 個／个 c)
    接job [Cantonese]  ―  zip3 zop1 [Jyutping]  ―  to take a job

References Edit

Danish Edit

Etymology Edit

From English job.

Pronunciation Edit

Noun Edit

job n

  1. job

Declension Edit

Declension of job
neuter
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative job jobbet job jobbene
genitive jobs jobbets jobs jobbenes

Dutch Edit

Etymology Edit

Borrowed from English job.

Pronunciation Edit

Noun Edit

job f (plural jobs)

  1. (chiefly Belgium) job
    Synonym: baan

Usage notes Edit

Job is the default word for a job in Belgium. In the Netherlands baan is the default; however, job is sometimes used informally or in certain sectors (e.g. marketing), but it may also be considered pretentious due to an association with yuppies.

French Edit

Etymology Edit

Borrowed from English job.

Pronunciation Edit

Noun Edit

job m or f (plural jobs)

  1. (informal) job (employment role)
  2. (Quebec, Louisiana, informal) work

Usage notes Edit

  • This term is feminine in Quebec and some parts of Louisiana, and masculine elsewhere.

Synonyms Edit

Further reading Edit

Italian Edit

Etymology Edit

Borrowed from English job.

Noun Edit

job m (invariable)

  1. job (employment role, computing task)

Portuguese Edit

Etymology Edit

Unadapted borrowing from English job.

Pronunciation Edit

Noun Edit

job m (plural jobs)

  1. (Brazil, computing) job (task carried out in batch mode)
    Synonym: tarefa

Romanian Edit

Etymology Edit

Borrowed from English job.

Noun Edit

job n (plural joburi)

  1. job

Declension Edit

Declension of job
singular plural
indefinite articulation definite articulation indefinite articulation definite articulation
nominative/accusative (un) job jobul (niște) joburi joburile
genitive/dative (unui) job jobului (unor) joburi joburilor
vocative jobule joburilor

Zaghawa Edit

Pronunciation Edit

Noun Edit

job

  1. pocket

Further reading Edit

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