day job

noun

: one's regular employment as contrasted with an occasional, secondary, or coveted job

Examples of day job in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Perhaps most retro of all, the Gunmen's day job is running a periodical magazine, printed on actual paper. Richard Edwards, Space.com, 1 June 2026 The visual sensibility is informed by Ailee’s day job. Claudia Alarcón, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026 For Osaka, blending high fashion into her day job is both a crucial form of self-expression and homage to her predecessors such as Venus and Serena Williams, who caused a stir and defined an era of tennis fashion with their boundary pushing designs. Ava Wallace, New York Times, 28 May 2026 The latest book by qntm, known as Sam Hughes at his day job as a software developer, fittingly feels like finding your way into a mesmerizing, bizarre, fascinating and maybe a little cringey corner of the Internet, one that is somehow more rewarding for arriving unexpected. Sarah Lewin Frasier, Scientific American, 27 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for day job

Word History

First Known Use

1971, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of day job was in 1971

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Cite this Entry

“Day job.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/day%20job. Accessed 3 Jun. 2026.

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