nine to fiveとは 意味・読み方・使い方

語源

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

副詞

nine to five (not comparable)

1. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
   • 1980, Dolly Parton, “9 to 5”:

     Nine to five, what a way to make a living; barely getting by, it's all taking and no giving.

   • 2006 July, Max King, “Leading Edge: It′s Good to be King”, in Running Times, page 58:

     [D]uring his heyday, Bill Rodgers emphatically stated, “No runner working 9 to 5 can beat me”, attesting that training for elite distance competition had become a full-time job in itself.

名詞

nine to five (plural nine to fives)

1. The period between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., corresponding to the office hours of a typical working day.
   1. A typical day job that occupies these working hours; (also) the working day itself.
      • 1974, Gil Scott-Heron, Brian Jackson, “The Bottle”, in Winter in America:

        He done quit his nine to five, he drink full-time / And now he’s living in a bottle

      • 2005 December, Zondra Hughes, “Save Your Marriage Now!: Divorce-Busters That Work”, in Ebony, page 146:

        Keisha works a 9-to-5, picks up their son from the day care and then heads home to prepare dinner for the family.

      • 2010 January-February, Lou′s Clues: Getting to Work (editorial), Ancestry Magazine, page 6,

        And you might decide that our 9-to-5s today just aren′t so tough.

      • 2023 November 29, Paul Clifton, “West is best in the Highlands”, in RAIL, number 997, page 42:

        "It's always an early or late shift here - there's never a nine-to-five. I wouldn't like a cosy nine-to-five anyway.["]

      • 2024 December 31, Brooke Kato, “What is ‘microretirement’? Gen Z and millennials spawn new career trend to help with woes”, in New York Post‎:

        In the caption, Felt noted that the break is “totally worth it” if you have the money. She’s “childfree” and had saved up “a sizable chunk” of funds before quitting her 9-to-5.

   2. (often with the) The routine imposed by such a work schedule.

      Going back to the nine to five after the weekend can be depressing.

      • 2026 March 11, Elle Hunt, “Surely if you rule the manosphere, you can be your own boss? These influencers aren’t even that”, in The Guardian‎:

        But going behind the scenes, you see what is absent from the social media highlights and edgy viral clips: life as an influencer is often banal and just as much of a trap as the standard nine-to-five.

   3. (by extension) A person who works such a day job.

      Synonym: nine-to-fiver

      • 2009, Scott Brown, Treat Your Poker Like a Business‎, page 101:

        Stock markets crash, businesses go bankrupt, and 9-to-5s can disappear from layoffs and downsizing.

派生語

参考

形容詞

nine to five (not comparable)

1. (of a job) Beginning at 9 a.m. and ending at 5 p.m.
   1. Relating to or characteristic of the routine or lifestyle centred around a typical working day.
      • 2000, Renata Somogyi, Inner Peace in a 9-To-5 World: Attaining Enlightenment Amidst the Chaos:

        [see title]

   2. (of a person) 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!

動詞

nine to five (third-person singular simple present nine to fives, present participle nine to fiving, simple past and past participle nine to fived)

1. (informal, intransitive, often with it) To work a typical day job with office hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
   • 1996 March 7, Rich Cohen, “Jennifer Aniston: The Girl Friend”, in Rolling Stone‎:

     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 spoiled suburban princess just finding her legs ([Jennifer] Aniston).

   • 2011 July 25, Martin Wainwright, “Street cred at last for one of the 'Forgotten Beatles'”, in The Guardian‎:

     Pete [Best] led a quiet but contented life subsequently as a civil servant and is heading for his golden wedding. He never abandoned music, however, and set up the Pete Best Band after 20 years nine-to-fiving for HM Government.

   • 2019 January 4, Brad Wheeler, “30 years later, the Pursuit of Happiness is back on its feet”, in The Globe and Mail‎:

     About three decades later, [Moe] Berg is 9-to-5-ing and pushing 60. He’s no longer a rock star.

Further reading

• “nine to five, adj., n., & adv.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
• “nine-to-five, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.