Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - job

(jobs) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. A job is the work that someone does to earn money. Once I’m in America I can get a job... Thousands have lost their jobs... I felt the pressure of being the first woman in the job. ...overseas job vacancies. N-COUNT 2. A job is a particular task. He said he hoped that the job of putting together a coalition wouldn’t take too much time... N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N of n, n N 3. The job of a particular person or thing is their duty or function. Their main job is to preserve health rather than treat illness... Drinking a lot helps the kidneys do their job. N-COUNT: usu with poss 4. If you say that someone is doing a good job, you mean that they are doing something well. In British English, you can also say that they are making a good job of something. We could do a far better job of managing it than they have... N-SING: usu adj N, oft N of -ing/n 5. If you say that you have a job doing something, you are emphasizing how difficult it is. He may have a hard job selling that argument to investors... N-SING: usu N -ing, N to-inf c darkgreen]emphasis 6. see also jobbing, day job, hatchet job, on-the-job 7. If you refer to work as jobs for the boys, you mean that the work is unfairly given to someone’s friends, supporters, or relations, even though they may not be the best qualified people to do it. (BRIT) PHRASE c darkgreen]disapproval 8. If you say that something is just the job, you mean that it is exactly what you wanted or needed. (BRIT INFORMAL) Not only is it just the job for travelling, but it’s handy for groceries too. PHRASE: usu v-link PHR 9. If someone is on the job, they are actually doing a particular job or task. The top pay scale after five years on the job would reach $5.00 an hour... PHRASE 10. it’s a good job: see good the job in hand: see hand