working day

¹

noun

1. the amount of time that a worker must work for an agreed daily wage.
2. a day ordinarily given to working ( holiday ).
3. the daily period of hours for working.

working-day

²

[ wur-king-dey ]

adjective

1. workaday; everyday.

working day

noun

1. a day on which work is done, esp for an agreed or stipulated number of hours in return for a salary or wage
2. the part of the day allocated to work

   a seven-hour working day

3. often plural commerce any day of the week except Sunday, public holidays, and, in some cases, Saturday

Word History and Origins

Origin of working day¹

First recorded in 1525–35

Origin of working day²

First recorded in 1470–80

Example Sentences

A web of technologies has enabled the management of every minute of the working day.

From Vox

That leaves between eight and 15 working days to sort out one of the most massive and divisive legislative undertakings in years.

From Fortune

You hit the snooze button, and eventually crawl out of bed to the start of yet another working day.

From Singularity Hub 

Much of the working day is spent papering over a job half done from the day before.

From The Daily Beast

God knows, there is enough to sigh for in this working-day world, is there not?

From Project Gutenberg

It was considered a triumph when the working-day was reduced to thirteen hours.

From Project Gutenberg

The convention centered on the demand to reduce the working day to eight hours.

From Project Gutenberg

In the main the leaders of the Federation placed slight reliance upon efforts to shorten the working day through legislation.

From Project Gutenberg

The working-day of the steam-engine, on the other hand, is twenty-four hours in length.

From Project Gutenberg

More About Working Day

What does working day mean?

A working day is any day that you work. Most commonly, working day refers to one of the days in the working week, the span of (often five) days that are not the weekend and when many people work.

The word workday means the same thing as working day, and workweek means the same thing as working week. Workday and workweek are much more commonly used in the U.S. and Canada.

The standard workweek is from Monday through Friday, with Saturday and Sunday being considered the weekend, though working schedules vary widely. Many full-time jobs involve a 40-hour workweek consisting of five eight-hour working days. In this sense, workweek refers to all the time spent working in a week, and a working day refers to the hours spent working in a day.

Working day sometimes refers just to the part of the day that you work, as in After the working day, I like to unwind by taking a walk around the lake before I go home for the night. 

The word working day is sometimes used to distinguish it from other nonwork days during a certain period, as in My trip is 11 days away—and only eight working days!

Example: My working day consists of catching up on emails for the first hour or so, and then I’m in meetings for several hours, leaving me an hour or two to get some actual work done.

Where does working day come from?

The term working day has been used since at least the 1500s.

Many workers associate the working day with the eight or so hours they have to work five days a week, but the eight-hour working day and the 40-hour workweek are relatively new concepts. In earlier times, it was common for standard working days to be 12 hours more.

Did you know ... ?

What are some synonyms for working day?

• workday

What are some words that share a root or word element with working day? 

• working week
• workweek
• weekday
• workplace
• work
• day

What are some words that often get used in discussing working day?

• eight
• hour
• five
• week
• pay
• full-time
• part-time
• schedule

How is working day used in real life?

A full-time working week commonly consists of five eight-hour working days, but a working day can refer to any day—or part of a day—during which a person works. The word workday means the same thing and is much more commonly used in the U.S. and Canada.

Last working day of the year for me. 🎈

— Paul Kidd (@paulkidd) December 3, 2020

Happy Labour Day! Today we celebrate the eight-hour working day. Put your feet up, play with your kids or do whatever it takes for you to unwind and reset for the short week ahead. #worklifebalance #restup #whs #CentreforWHS pic.twitter.com/qhOXnqSyKG

— Centre for WHS (@CentreforWHS) September 30, 2018

The history of the eight-hour working day https://t.co/klL2MHBVTO

— The Independent (@Independent) November 3, 2015

 

 

Try using working day!

Is working day used correctly in the following sentence? 

Sometimes my working day extends into the night—I need to remind myself to take a break.