Dictionary

on the job en · ADP

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. working; busy; at work.
   • In the United States, if you want to die on the job, you should become a logger or a commercial fisher. These two jobs occupy the top two spots on the highest risk careers. 2025 October 21, Rose George, “‘I knew in my head we were dying’: the last voyage of the Scandies Rose”, in The Guardian:
   • Unlike your typical office drama, wherein characters’ lives intersect entertainingly both inside and outside work, the premise of Severance rests in the twisted implications of total compartmentalization: What if you could separate out your work memories (and thereby your work self), thereby forming a totally distinct identity while on the job? April 14 2022, Delia Cai, “Severance, the New York Times’s Twitter Guidelines, and the Forever Illusion of Work-Life Balance”, in Vanity Fair:
   • Near-synonyms: on the clock; on the case, on it
2. (slang) Having sex.
3. (jargon) Being a police officer, as contrasted with a civilian.

Relateds

on-the-job

Synonyms

on the case · on it · on the clock