Word.ws English Dictionary

jobsworth

Syllables: jobs·worth/ˈd͡ʒɒbzwɜːθ/US/ˈd͡ʒɑbzˌwɝθ/

jobsworth noun: a person who upholds trivial rules unnecessarily and obstructively in order to exercise their (typically minor) authority.

Noun

jobsworth (plural jobsworths)

  1. (UK, derogatory, informal) A person who upholds trivial rules unnecessarily and obstructively in order to exercise their (typically minor) authority.
    • The usual council jobsworths came down to tell them to stop playing football.
    • For many people, however, the stress of not having the correct ticket for a train or bus journey can lead to a particularly uncomfortable feeling … fear that they might encounter a jobsworth. […] Someone who has been caught out by a jobsworth, will probably accuse them of being an embittered...2000 January 10, “Your job’s worth more than you are”, in BBC News, archived from the original on 15 Feb 2020

jobsworth meaning in Tamil

jobsworth in Tamil

பணிவழி மதிப்பு, பணிவலியுறுத்தி

Forms of jobsworth

pluraljobsworths

Origin of jobsworth

A compound of job + -s- + worth, derived from the phrase “It’s more than me job’s worth” or “... my job’s worth” as used in denial of a request by a functionary, chiefly popularized by Jeremy Taylor's 1973 song “Jobsworth” and the 1973–1994 BBC television series That’s Life! which focused on consumer affairs and gave a “Jobsworth of the Week” award to “a startling tale of going by the book”.

Questions about jobsworth

What does jobsworth mean?
Jobsworth means a person who upholds trivial rules unnecessarily and obstructively in order to exercise their (typically minor) authority.
What is jobsworth in Tamil?
Jobsworth in Tamil is பணிவழி மதிப்பு, பணிவலியுறுத்தி. See Jobsworth meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is jobsworth?
Jobsworth is a noun.
How do you pronounce jobsworth?
Jobsworth is pronounced /ˈd͡ʒɒbzwɜːθ/ (UK).
What is the plural of jobsworth?
The plural of jobsworth is jobsworths.

Words near jobsworth in the dictionary

  1. jobster
  2. jobsters
  3. jobstopper
  4. jobstoppers
  5. Jobsts
  6. jobsworth
  7. jobsworths
  8. Joburg
  9. Joburger
  10. jobweek
  11. jobweeks

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: jobsworth (page history and authors); jobsworth (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-jobsworth.wav.

Cite this entry: “jobsworth.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/jobsworth. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.