9 to 5

noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A day job, especially at a large company (emphasizing banality).

    "1976 March, advertisement, Popular Mechanics, page 44, By day, he′s a 9-to-5 man. By night, an explorer in a field that really interests him!"

  2. 2
    The workday itself (the period of the day between 9 am and 5 pm).

    "[D]uring his heyday, Bill Rodgers emphatically stated, “No runner working 9 to 5 can beat me”, attesting that training for elite distance competition had become a full-time job in itself."

  3. 3
    One who works in a job from 9 am to 5 pm.

    "Stock markets crash, businesses go bankrupt, and 9-to-5s can disappear from layoffs and downsizing."

Etymology

From the common western business hours of 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

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