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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

job.

A task.

3 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/dʒɒb/Canada, Received-Pronunciation/dʒɑb/General-American, Ireland
  1. A task.

    countable · uncountable
    I've got a job for you: could you wash the dishes?
    I didn't speak to many coworkers for the first year on the job.
  2. An economic role for which a person is paid.

    countable · uncountable
    That surgeon has a great job.
    He's been out of a job since being made redundant in January.
  3. Plastic surgery.

    countable · uncountable
    He had a nose job.
  4. A sex act.

    countable · uncountable
    hand job
  5. A task, or series of tasks, carried out in batch mode (especially on a mainframe computer).

    countable · uncountable
  6. 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
  7. A robbery or heist.

    countable · informal · uncountable
    a bank job
  8. Any affair or event which affects one, whether fortunately or unfortunately.

    countable · uncountable
  9. 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.
  10. The police as a profession, act of policing, or an individual police officer.

    UK · slang · uncountable
  11. Synonym of penis.

    countable · slang · uncountable · vulgar
Where this word comes from

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.

verb/dʒɒb/Canada, Received-Pronunciation/dʒɑb/General-American, Ireland
  1. To do odd jobs or occasional work for hire.

    intransitive
  2. To work as a jobber.

    intransitive
  3. To take the loss, usually in a demeaning or submissive manner.

    intransitive · slang
  4. To buy and sell for profit, as securities; to speculate in.

    transitive
  5. 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.
  6. To seek private gain under pretence of public service; to turn public matters to private advantage.

    intransitive
  7. To hire or let in periods of service.

    to job a carriage
Where this word comes from

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.

verb/dʒɒb/Canada, Received-Pronunciation/dʒɑb/General-American, Ireland
  1. To peck (of a bird); (more generally) to poke or prod (at, into).

    archaic · intransitive · regional
  2. To pierce or poke (someone or something), typically with a sharp or pointed object; to stab.

    transitive
  3. To hit (someone) with a quick, sharp punch; to jab.

    Australia · transitive
Where this word comes from

Imitative.

noun/dʒɒb/Canada, Received-Pronunciation/dʒɑb/General-American, Ireland
  1. A sudden thrust or stab; a jab or punch.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

Imitative.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.