on the job
Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Financial, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
job 1
(jŏb)n.
1.
a. A regular activity performed in exchange for payment, especially as one's trade, occupation, or profession: Her job is doing drug research.
b. A position of employment: How many jobs are open at the factory?
2.
a. A task that must be done: Let's finish this job before we start another.
b. A specified duty or responsibility: Your job is to watch the kids while we're away. See Synonyms at task.
c. Informal A difficult or strenuous task: It's a real job getting people to help out at these events.
3.
a. A specific piece of work to be done for a set fee: an expensive repair job.
b. The object to be worked on: Those overgrown shrubs are a big job.
c. Something resulting from or produced by work: I like the job they did on those shrubs.
4. An operation done to improve one's appearance, or the result of such an operation. Often used in combination: a face job.
5. Computers A program application that may consist of several steps but is performed as a single logical unit.
6. Informal A state of affairs: Their marriage was a bad job from the start. It's a good job that we left early to avoid the traffic.
7. Informal A criminal act, especially a robbery: a bank job.
8. Informal An example of a specified type, especially of something made or constructed. Often used in combination: a new building that is just another glass and steel job; a cowboy hat that is one of those ten-gallon jobs.
v. jobbed, job·bing, jobs
v.intr.
1. To work at odd jobs.
2. To work by the piece.
3. To act as a jobber.
v.tr.
Idioms: 1. To purchase (merchandise) from manufacturers and sell it to retailers.
2. To arrange for (contracted work) to be done in portions by others; subcontract.
3. To transact (official business) dishonestly for private profit.
do a job on
1. To damage, harm, or worsen: The stylist did a real job on my hair.
2. To defecate on.
on the job
1. Paying close attention; on the alert.
2. At work; at one's place of business: Employees are not allowed to smoke while on the job.
[Perhaps from obsolete jobbe, piece, alteration of Middle English gobbe, lump; see gob1.]
job 2
(jŏb) Chiefly Southerntr. & intr.v. jobbed, job·bing, jobs
To jab or make a jab.
n.
A jab.
[Middle English jobben, of imitative origin.]
Job 1
(jōb) In the Bible, an upright man whose faith in God survived the test of repeated calamities.
Job 2
(jōb)n.
See Table at Bible.
[After Job.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Adj. | 1. |  on the job - actively engaged in paid work; "the working population"; "the ratio of working men to unemployed"; "a working mother"; "robots can be on the job day and night"employed - having your services engaged for; or having a job especially one that pays wages or a salary; "most of our graduates are employed" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.