desk job

noun

An employment position in which one remains mostly seated at a desk, performing routine office work.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

noundesk job (plural desk jobs)

plural desk jobs

  1. informalAn employment position in which one remains mostly seated at a desk, performing routine office work.

    "I really like working with the clients. Things break, but I've always been handy. And it sure beats a desk job," he says.

    2006 June 5, Janet Novack, “Beach House Bummer”, in Forbes, retrieved 21 Aug 2010
    1 more example

    For 13 months in 1966 and '67 Corson served as commander of 3,500 men in 114 platoons spread out in hamlets across five provinces in South Viet Nam. . . . In 1968 Corson was reassigned to a desk job at the Pentagon.

    1981 July 13, “Advice and Dissent”, in Time

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
office job

Translations

Finnish toimistotyö
  • toimistotyöTranslations
French emploi de bureau
  • emploi de bureauTranslations
Polish praca biurowa
  • praca biurowaTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

desk job. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desk%20job

MLA

“desk job.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desk%20job. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “desk job,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desk%20job.

Source: desk job on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.