Definition job in American English

▪ dead-end, full-time, good, low-paid, menial, part-time, permanent, semi-skilled, skilled, temporary, unskilled, well-paid

Talking or writing about jobs

general

job what you do regularly to earn money, especially what you do for a particular company or person. A full-time job is a job that you do for at least the same number of hours a week as people usually work. A part-time job is a job that you do for fewer hours a week than people usually work: My first job was helping in a pet store. ♦ a full-time bookkeeper ♦ He works full-time for the local government. ♦ a part-time bartender ♦ I teach part-time now.

work something that you do to earn money, or the place where you go to do it: I’ve got a lot of work at the moment. ♦ Dan’s at work.

career the jobs someone does over a period of time that involve a particular type of work: a long career in the civil service ♦ a medical career

profession a type of job that you need a lot of education or special training to do, or all the people who do a particular job like this: I’m a doctor by profession. ♦ the legal profession

occupation (formal) your usual job: What are your current occupation and salary?

position a particular job: used especially in advertisements for available jobs: We’re interviewing candidates for the administrative assistant’s position.

getting a job

apply to officially say, usually in a letter or on a special form, that you would like to be considered for a particular job

résumé a list of your qualifications and work experience that you send to someone who you are hoping to work for

applicant someone who applies for a particular job

candidate someone who is competing with other people for a particular job

interview a meeting with the people you are hoping to work for where they ask you questions and find out more about you

interviewee an applicant who is asked to come for an interview

leaving a job

resign to officially say that you are going to leave your job

quit (informal) to leave a job

fire to tell someone that they must leave their job, especially because their work is not good or they have done something wrong: She’s been fired for not meeting her sales targets.

lay someone off to tell someone that they no longer have a job because they are not needed any more

retire to stop working, usually because you have reached a certain age

not having a job

unemployed or jobless used for describing someone who does not have a job but who would like to have one: used also as a noun for referring to people in this position as a group: a jobless welder ♦ Her brother has been unemployed for over a year. ♦ programs to help the unemployed find work

out of work used for describing someone who does not have a job but who would like to have one: She’s been out of work for six months.

retired used for describing someone who is not working because they have reached a certain age: a retired army officer