man-day

American  

[man-dey] / ˈmænˌdeɪ /

noun

plural

man-days

1. a unit of measurement, especially in accountancy; based on a standard number of man-hours in a day of work.

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Usage

What does man-day mean? Man-day is a unit of measurement referring to the amount of work that one person does in one day. Man-day is often used in accounting and other business contexts, especially when estimating and budgeting for how much work it will take to complete a project, as well as how long it will take and how much it will cost. For example, if a team of three people takes two working days to finish a project, it takes six man-days. Of course, man-days don’t just count work done by men. A neutral alternative term for man-day is person-day. Example: We estimate that it will take about 150 man-days to complete the walkway, so make sure we budget for that.

Etymology

Origin of man-day

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

They had 40 customers, paying from $100 a man-day for special one-shot jobs to $750 a month on yearly or seasonal contracts.

From Time Magazine Archive

In Kentucky, for example, productivity has dropped from 23.6 tons of coal mined per man-day in 1969 to 16.9 tons in 1977; in Illinois, the plunge has been from 26.4 tons to 14.9 tons.

From Time Magazine Archive