Dictionary

nine to five en · ADJ

Etymology

From nine + to + five, referring to the usual office hours in many countries.

Meanings

1. (not-comparable, of a job) Beginning at 9 a.m. and ending at 5 p.m. ▸ Relating to or characteristic of the routine or lifestyle centred around a typical working day.
   • [see title] 2000, Renata Somogyi, Inner Peace in a 9-To-5 World: Attaining Enlightenment Amidst the Chaos:
2. (not-comparable, of a job, of a person) Beginning at 9 a.m. and ending at 5 p.m. ▸ Working such a job or committed to such a lifestyle.
   • 1976 March, advertisement, Popular Mechanics, page 44, By day, he′s a 9-to-5 man. By night, an explorer in a field that really interests him!

Forms

nine to five en · ADV

Etymology

From nine + to + five, referring to the usual office hours in many countries.

Meanings

1. (not-comparable) From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
   • [D]uring his heyday, Bill Rodgers emphatically stated, “No runner working 9 to 5 can beat me”, attesting that training for elite distance competition had become a full-time job in itself. 2006 July, Max King, “Leading Edge: It′s Good to be King”, in Running Times, page 58:
   • Nine to five, what a way to make a living; barely getting by, it's all taking and no giving. 1980, Dolly Parton, “9 to 5”:

Forms

nine to five en · NOUN

Etymology

From nine + to + five, referring to the usual office hours in many countries.

Meanings

1. The period between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., corresponding to the office hours of a typical working day. ▸ A typical day job that occupies these working hours; (also) the working day itself.
   • 2010 January-February, Lou′s Clues: Getting to Work (editorial), Ancestry Magazine, page 6, And you might decide that our 9-to-5s today just aren′t so tough.
   • We're lost in music / Feel so alive / I quit my nine-to-five / We're lost in music 1979, Nile Rodgers, Bernard Edwards, “Lost in Music”, performed by Sister Sledge:
   • "It's always an early or late shift here - there's never a nine-to-five. I wouldn't like a cosy nine-to-five anyway.["] 2023 November 29, Paul Clifton, “West is best in the Highlands”, in RAIL, number 997, page 42:
   • He done quit his nine to five, he drink full-time / And now he’s living in a bottle 1974, Gil Scott-Heron, Brian Jackson, “The Bottle”, in Winter in America:
   • In the caption, Felt noted that the break is “totally worth it” if you have the money. She’s “childfree” and had saved up “a sizable chunk” of funds before quitting her 9-to-5. 2024 December 31, Brooke Kato, “What is ‘microretirement’? Gen Z and millennials spawn new career trend to help with woes”, in New York Post:
   • Keisha works a 9-to-5, picks up their son from the day care and then heads home to prepare dinner for the family. 2005 December, Zondra Hughes, “Save Your Marriage Now!: Divorce-Busters That Work”, in Ebony, page 146:
2. (often, with the) The period between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., corresponding to the office hours of a typical working day. ▸ The routine imposed by such a work schedule.
   • But going behind the scenes, you see what is absent from the social media highlights and edgy viral clips: life as an influencer is often banal and just as much of a trap as the standard nine-to-five. 2026 March 11, Elle Hunt, “Surely if you rule the manosphere, you can be your own boss? These influencers aren’t even that”, in The Guardian:
   • Going back to the nine to five after the weekend can be depressing.
3. (broadly) The period between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., corresponding to the office hours of a typical working day. ▸ A person who works such a day job.
   • Stock markets crash, businesses go bankrupt, and 9-to-5s can disappear from layoffs and downsizing. 2009, Scott Brown, Treat Your Poker Like a Business, page 101:

Forms

Deriveds

nine-to-fiver

Relateds

bankers' hours · 9-9-6

Synonyms

nine-to-fiver

Translations (9)

fr de neuf à cinq (day job) · pl miejsce zatrudnienia (day job) · de von neun bis fünf (day job) · et üheksast viieni (working day) · fi yhdeksästä viiteen (working day) · ru с девяти́ до пяти́ (day job) · cmn 朝九晚五 (day job) · pl typowy dzień roboczy (working day) · ja 九時五時 (day job)

nine to five en · VERB

Etymology

From nine + to + five, referring to the usual office hours in many countries.

Meanings

1. (informal, intransitive, often, with it) To work a typical day job with office hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
   • Pete [Best] led a quiet but contented life subsequently as a civil servant and is heading for his golden wedding. He never abandoned music, however, and set up the Pete Best Band after 20 years nine-to-fiving for HM Government. 2011 July 25, Martin Wainwright, “Street cred at last for one of the 'Forgotten Beatles'”, in The Guardian:
   • What’s more, Friends offers someone for everyone: a tall, dorky, insecure guy (David Schwimmer); a ditzy, guitar-strumming blonde (Lisa Kudrow); a handsome, jean-clad palooka (Matt LeBlanc); a sarcastic, 9-to-5-ing funnyman ([Matthew] Perry); a dark-haired, blue-eyed Veronica (Courteney Cox); and a spoiled suburban princess just finding her legs ([Jennifer] Aniston). 1996 March 7, Rich Cohen, “Jennifer Aniston: The Girl Friend”, in Rolling Stone:
   • About three decades later, [Moe] Berg is 9-to-5-ing and pushing 60. He’s no longer a rock star. 2019 January 4, Brad Wheeler, “30 years later, the Pursuit of Happiness is back on its feet”, in The Globe and Mail:

Forms