What does "job" mean?
A task.
Job
/dʒɒb/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A task.
- Grammar: job is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: task, accomplished fact, accomplishment, achievement.
- Useful contrasts: idleness, inactivity, layoff.
- Usage evidence: You finally succeeded in getting a job.
How to use "job"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "job" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "job" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "job" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "job" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "job" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "task" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "job", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A task. countable, uncountable
"I've got a job for you: could you wash the dishes?"
- 2 A sudden thrust or stab; a jab or punch. obsolete
"Fair dinkum, a man ought to give you a job in the b— face."
- 3 A person who shows remarkable patience, especially in the face of great misfortune. figuratively
- 4 a damaging piece of work wordnet
- 5 An economic role for which a person is paid. countable, uncountable
"That surgeon has a great job."
Show 19 more definitions
- 6 the performance of a piece of work wordnet
- 7 Plastic surgery. countable, uncountable
"He had a nose job."
- 8 the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money wordnet
- 9 A sex act. countable, uncountable
"hand job"
- 10 the responsibility to do something wordnet
- 11 A task, or series of tasks, carried out in batch mode (especially on a mainframe computer). countable, uncountable
- 12 a specific piece of work required to be done as a duty or for a specific fee wordnet
- 13 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. countable, uncountable
- 14 a crime (especially a robbery) wordnet
- 15 A robbery or heist. countable, informal, uncountable
"a bank job"
- 16 a workplace; as in the expression ‘on the job’ wordnet
- 17 Any affair or event which affects one, whether fortunately or unfortunately. countable, uncountable
- 18 an object worked on; a result produced by working wordnet
- 19 A thing or whatsit (often used in a vague way to refer to something whose name one cannot recall). colloquial, countable, uncountable
"Pass me that little job with the screw thread on it."
- 20 (computer science) a program application that may consist of several steps but is a single logical unit wordnet
- 21 The police as a profession, act of policing, or an individual police officer. UK, slang, uncountable
"“He was ex-job, Beavis. Detective sergeant out of County, Banbury, retired in ‘59.”"
- 22 any long-suffering person who withstands affliction without despairing wordnet
- 23 A penis. countable, slang, uncountable, vulgar
- 24 a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved wordnet
Verb
- 1 To do odd jobs or occasional work for hire. intransitive
"Authors of all work, to job for the season."
- 2 To peck (of a bird); (more generally) to poke or prod (at, into). archaic, intransitive, regional
"a raven pitch'd upon him, and there sate, jobbing of the sore"
- 3 invest at a risk wordnet
- 4 To work as a jobber. intransitive
- 5 To pierce or poke (someone or something), typically with a sharp or pointed object; to stab. transitive
"He had ‘jobbed out’ the eye of one gentleman."
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 work occasionally wordnet
- 7 To take the loss, usually in a demeaning or submissive manner. intransitive, slang
- 8 To hit (someone) with a quick, sharp punch; to jab. Australia, transitive
"A stranger jobbed me in the mug so hard that I fell off my chair."
- 9 arranged for contracted work to be done by others wordnet
- 10 To buy and sell for profit, as securities; to speculate in. transitive
- 11 profit privately from public office and official business wordnet
- 12 To subcontract a project or delivery in small portions to a number of contractors. often, transitive
"We wanted to sell a turnkey plant, but they jobbed out the contract to small firms."
- 13 To seek private gain under pretence of public service; to turn public matters to private advantage. intransitive
"And judges job, and bishops bite the town."
- 14 To hire or let in periods of service.
"to job a carriage"
Proper Noun
- 1 A book of the Old Testament and the Hebrew Tanakh.
- 2 A male given name from Hebrew.
- 3 A character in the Old Testament and the Qur'an, renowned for his patience.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"You finally succeeded in getting a job."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "job"?
Common synonyms include: task, accomplished fact, accomplishment, achievement, act, acta.
How do you use "job" in a sentence?
You finally succeeded in getting a job.
How do you pronounce "job"?
Pronounced /dʒɒb/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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.
Etymology 2
Imitative.
Etymology 3
From Latin Iob, from Ancient Greek Ἰώβ (Iṓb), from Biblical Hebrew אִיּוֹב (ʾiyyōḇ), related to אָיַב (ʾāyaḇ, “to be an enemy”) and אוֹיֵב (ʾōyēḇ, “enemy”).