Meanings
proper noun
- The adage that work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.
Origin
Introduced by Cyril Northcote Parkinson in a humorous essay published in The Economist in 1955.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
Parkinson's law. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Parkinson's%20law
MLA
“Parkinson's law.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Parkinson's%20law. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Parkinson's law,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Parkinson's%20law.
Source: Parkinson's law on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.