What does jobbing mean?
Jobbing means taking on work in separate jobs, often as a freelancer, contractor, or self-employed tradesperson. It describes a pattern of employment rather than a particular profession: a person doing jobbing might repair equipment, make one-off products, provide occasional services, or complete small assignments for different clients. The term is especially associated with British English and may suggest practical, adaptable work rather than a regular salary. In printing, jobbing has the more specialized sense of producing miscellaneous items for individual customers, such as stationery, signs, or short runs of leaflets, as distinct from large-scale mass printing. The word can also refer to the occupation or business of undertaking this kind of work. Historically, jobbing workers and printers offered a broad range of services before specialist manufacturers and mass production became dominant. Today, the expression remains useful for describing flexible freelance or casual work, although it may sound somewhat old-fashioned in casual American usage.
Work consisting of individual tasks or contracts, especially freelance, casual, or piecework; the practice of doing such work.
"She supplements her income with a little jobbing and occasional translation work."
Chiefly British and natural in both general and trade-specific contexts.
Denoting work, especially printing or similar trade work, undertaken in small individual orders rather than by mass production.
"The business still uses a jobbing printer for short runs of specialist labels."
Most often attributive, as in jobbing printer or jobbing work.
Before modern agencies and online platforms, a jobbing printer could turn out everything from cards to posters for customers who walked in with a small order.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does jobbing come from?
Jobbing derives from job, a word whose precise origin is uncertain. The use of jobbing for carrying out individual pieces of work developed from the older sense of job as a task or piece of employment. The specialized printing sense is also old, referring to printers who handled whatever small jobs customers brought rather than producing only standardized items in large quantities.
Related word forms
How jobbing is actually used
The word is most common in British English and can sound somewhat traditional or informal. In printing and related trades, it has a long-established technical sense; in general use, it suggests irregular freelance or casual work rather than a single sustained occupation.
Easily confused with jobbing
A job is a particular piece of work or position, whereas jobbing is the activity of taking on such pieces of work, usually as freelance or casual work.