jack-of-all-trades

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

/ ˌdʒæk əvˈɔlˈtreɪdz, ˈdʒæk- /

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See synonyms for jack-of-all-trades on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural jacks-of-all-trades.

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

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of jack-of-all-trades

First recorded in 1610–20

Words nearby jack-of-all-trades

jacklighter, Jacklin, jack mackerel, jack Mormon, jack oak, jack-of-all-trades, Jack of all trades, master of none, jackoff, jack-o'-lantern, jack pine, jack plane

How to use jack-of-all-trades in a sentence

He was a sort of jack-of-all-trades, and a very useful man in a valley where mechanics were few and transportation difficult.
Boyhood in Norway|Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen
Judge Penniman was another who warned him heavily that it was time to quit being a Jack-of-all-trades.
The Wrong Twin|Harry Leon Wilson
The surest way of making a man incompetent is to make him Jack-of-all-trades, for then he will be master of none.
The Cult of Incompetence|Emile Faguet
A vision of a happy-go-lucky Jack-of-all-trades arose before me.
Twelve Men|Theodore Dreiser

His duties—specialized to one operation—we deemed unfairly light in comparison with our jack-of-all-trades routine.
Merchantmen-at-Arms|David W. Bone

British Dictionary definitions for jack-of-all-trades

jack of all trades

noun plural jacks of all trades

a person who undertakes many different kinds of work

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012