inside job

noun

A crime or other illicit action committed by or with the assistance of someone either having a relationship with a victim or entrusted with access to the victim's affairs and premises.

Opposite
outside job
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Meanings

nouninside job (plural inside jobs)

plural inside jobs

  1. idiomaticcriminologyA crime or other illicit action committed by or with the assistance of someone either having a relationship with a victim or entrusted with access to the victim's affairs and premises.

    ... while the police are calling it an inside job just because the old lady's nephew teaches a Bible class.

    1908, O. Henry, The Complete Works of O. Henry [pseud.].: The gentle grafter, page 142
    2 more examples

    It seems to me it must have been what the police at home call "an inside job"; because whoever it was apparently knew the combination of the safe.

    1921, Louis Joseph Vance, chapter 10, in Alias The Lone Wolf

    In Britain, where the British BeeKeepers Association (BBKA) has been urging members to microchip their hives for some time, the continuing mystery and the belief that the crimes are inside jobs are taking their toll.

    2017 September 23, “From north Wales to Norfolk, distraught beekeepers ask: who’s stealing our hives?”, in The Observer

    Antonyms: outside job

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA crime or other illicit action committed by or with the assistance of someone either having a relationship with a victim or entrusted with access to the victim's affairs and premises.

Opposite
outside job

Origin

First attested in 1908. See cite below.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic سوء استغلال الوظيفَة
  • سوء استغلال الوظيفَةTranslations
Chinese 幕後黑手
  • 幕後黑手Translations
Finnish sisäpiirin keikka, sisäpiirin juttu
  • sisäpiirin keikkaTranslations
  • sisäpiirin juttuTranslations
  • sisäpiiri-iskuTranslations
Polish robota wewnętrzna, inside job
  • robota wewnętrznaTranslations
  • inside jobTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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