job

noun WORK

1 (C) the regular paid work that you do for an employer: get/find a job (as sth): Eventually, Mary got a job as a waitress. | take a job (=accept a job that is offered to you): I was so desperate that I took the first job that came along. | lose a job: At least there's no danger of you losing your job. | temporary/permanent job: It's a temporary job, but I'm hoping it'll be made permanent. | offer (sb) a job: Well, Ms Taylor, we'd like to offer you the job. | part-time/full-time job (=a job you do for only part of the day or week, or all of the day or week) | apply for a job (=try to get a job): I've applied for a job at the university. | job satisfaction (=the enjoyment that you get from doing your job) | leave/quit a job: Oh Rick, you didn't quit your job, did you? | change jobs (=get a different job) | hold down a job (=keep a job) | job security (=how permanent your job is likely to be) | Saturday/summer/holiday job (=a job that you only do on Saturdays etc) | steady job (=a job that is likely to continue) | be out of a job (=not have a job): If the project fails we'll all be out of a job. | know your job (=be very experienced at the work you do) | job losses: Four hundred more job losses were announced this week.

—see also: job description

2 on the job

a) as part of a particular job: Most clerical training is done on the job.

b) doing a particular job: We'll put our best people on the job.

c) BrE spoken having sex

3 I'm only doing my job spoken used to say that it is not your fault if you have to do something in your work that other people do not like

4 it's more than my job's worth BrE spoken used to tell someone that you cannot do what they want because it is against your company's rules

5 jobs for the boys BrE work that someone in power has given to their friends, especially work that is not necessary

STH YOU MUST DO

6 (C) something that you have to do which involves working or making an effort: Fixing the roof is going to be the biggest job. | odd jobs (=small things that need to be done, especially in the house or garden) | get on with a job (=continue doing a job) | the job in hand (=the work that you are doing now)

7 DUTY (singular) if it is your job to do something, it is your duty to do it: Leave the dishes - that's my job. | it is sb's job (to do sth): It's my job to make sure that the work's finished on time.

8 fall down on the job to fail to do something you were supposed to do

9 a job of work BrE old-fashioned something that you have to do, whether you enjoy it or not

DO STH WELL/BADLY

10 do a good/great/marvellous job (with) to do something very well: You've done a great job raising your kids.

11 make a good/bad job of sth BrE to do something well or badly: Sarah made a really good job of that presentation.

12 do the job informal if something does the job, it is effective in doing what you want it to do: That little screwdriver should do the job.

13 Good job! AmE spoken used to tell someone they have done something well

COMPUTERS

14 (C) an action done by a computer

CRIME

15 (C) informal a crime in which money is stolen from a bank, company etc: a bank job | an inside job (=one done by a member of the organization in which it happens)

OTHER MEANINGS

16 it's a good job BrE spoken used to say that it is lucky that something happened: It's a good job you had your safety belt on.

17 have a job doing/to do sth BrE spoken to have difficulty doing something: I had an awful job getting that stain out.

18 make the best of a bad job especially BrE to do the best that you can in a situation that you do not like but cannot change

19 give sth up as a bad job BrE to accept that something is not going to succeed and stop trying to do it

20 just the job BrE spoken exactly what is needed for a particular situation: That table you gave us was just the job!

21 KIND OF THING spoken used to say that something is of a particular type: Jack's got a new car - a red two-seater job.

22 a job lot BrE a mixed group of things that are sold together: a job lot of furniture

—see also: blow job, hand job, nose job USAGE NOTE: JOB WORD CHOICE: job, work, post, position, line of work/business, do, occupation, trade, profession, vocation, career What you do to earn your living is your job (C), especially if you work for someone else: I need a part-time job. | a boring job delivering pizzas Work (U) is something you are paid for doing, especially regularly - She wants to return to work after having the baby - but it can also be used where there is no payment or you are not working for someone else: voluntary work | housework | her work as a self-employed trainer Post and position are more formal words for a particular job in a company etc: He was appointed to the post/position of professor of English at Stanford University. In spoken English, the kind of work or job someone does may be called their line of work/business, or the verb do is often used, especially in questions: What do you do? | I'd like to get into that line of work! More formally, your kind of work or job is your occupation (C). On a form you might see: Please state your name and occupation. A trade is a skilled kind of work in which you make or do things with your hands: She's an electrician by trade. A profession is a kind of work such as that of a doctor or lawyer, for which you need special training and a good education. Some professions, such as teaching and nursing, are also called vocations, which suggests that people do them in order to help others rather that to earn a lot of money. A career is a type of work that you do or hope to do for most of your life: Her political career began 20 years ago.