jack-of-all-trades

[ jak-uhv-awl-treydz, jak- ]

noun

, plural jacks-of-all-trades.

1. a person who is adept at many different kinds of work.

jack of all trades

noun

1. a person who undertakes many different kinds of work

Word History and Origins

Origin of jack-of-all-trades¹

First recorded in 1610–20

Example Sentences

The human placenta is a jack of all trades.

From Science Magazine

Another letter writer, Madison, who lives in Des Moines and prefers her last name not be published, describes her late grandmother, LaVerne, as a jack of all trades.

From Los Angeles Times

I use my platform to say that people in musical theater are not jack of all trades, master of none.

From Los Angeles Times

I am a jack of all trades in this position and it's super fun, albeit kind of crazy sometimes.

From Salon

As the researchers note, their findings fit a hypothesis that polyploidy allows plants to be both a “jack of all trades” and a “master of some.”

From Scientific American