nine to five

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nine to five

Where it comes from

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

adverb nine-to-five · 9 to 5 · 9-to-5 · 9-5 · 9-2-5 · nine while five

not comparable From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nine to five, what a way to make a living; barely getting by, it's all taking and no giving.

noun nine to fives · nine-to-five · 9 to 5 · 9-to-5 · 9-5 · 9-2-5

A typical day job that occupies these working hours; (also) the working day itself. He done quit his nine to five, he drink full-time / And now he’s living in a bottle
often, with the The routine imposed by such a work schedule. Going back to the nine to five after the weekend can be depressing.
broadly A person who works such a day job. Stock markets crash, businesses go bankrupt, and 9-to-5s can disappear from layoffs and downsizing.
Similar: nine-to-fiver

adjective nine-to-five · 9 to 5 · 9-to-5 · 9-5 · 9-2-5 · nine while five

not comparable, of a job Relating to or characteristic of the routine or lifestyle centred around a typical working day. [see title]
not comparable, of a person, of a job 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!

verb nine to fives · nine to fiving · nine to fived · nine-to-five · 9 to 5

informal, intransitive, often, with it To work a typical day job with office hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 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

Translations

Every language

noun day job

日本語	九時五時 kuji goji
中文	朝九晚五 zhāo jiǔ wǎn wǔ
Français	de neuf à cinq
Deutsch	von neun bis fünf
Русский	с девяти́ до пяти́ s devjatí do pjatí

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MLA

"nine to five." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/nine%20to%20five. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

nine to five. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/nine%20to%20five

Chicago

"nine to five." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/nine%20to%20five.

BibTeX

@misc{nine_to_five_2026,
  title = {nine to five},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/nine%20to%20five},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}