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Glite Dictionary
toughest job

toughest job

3 3.9
The most difficult role someone can have
  • noun
translation icon : trabajo más duro
  • You had the toughest job of all military jobs.
  • one of the toughest jobs
  • the toughest job in the world
  • the toughest job I've ever had

Examples

  • Being a parent is considered the toughest job due to its emotional and physical demands.

  • Well, Joe Shea gave me probably the toughest job and the most one of the most important jobs I had in my career.

  • It's described as the toughest job in the world.

    Sven (2024)

  • This is the toughest job a manager has, but the organization has decided to make a change.

    Bull Durham (1988)

  • This is the toughest job a manager has. . . but. . . the organization wants to make a change.

    Bull Durham (1988)

  • The toughest job in baseball is closing out a 1-run lead.

    Blog text (5)

  • Mr. Pandit took one of the toughest jobs in banking when he assumed the throne at Citi in late 2007.

    Blog text (5)

  • You know, not to, not to just jump on the old slogan of the Peace Corps, but fostering at times the toughest job you'll ever love.

  • This role is often viewed as the toughest job in the company, requiring skills and resilience.

  • He believes that being a teacher can be the toughest job because of the challenges they face daily.

Synonyms

tough job
vstoughest job
29 3.4

A difficult task that needs a lot of effort

is the single most difficult position someone can have
toughie
vstoughest job
  • Informal
4 7.6

A person, question, or thing that is very difficult to deal with

is limited to the single most demanding position rather than any challenge
tough going
vstoughest job
  • Informal
4 5.3

A situation or task that is hard to do

applies to the most difficult position rather than a general situation
high-pressure job
vstoughest job
1 4.5

A job that causes a lot of stress and has strict deadlines

focuses on being the most difficult position rather than on stress alone

How Difficult

toughest job
3 3.9
tough job
29 3.4

Surface Forms

toughest job singular
toughest jobs plural

Morphology

tough + job

The phrase is a regular adjective + noun combination where 'toughest' is simply the superlative form of 'tough' and 'job' is a common noun, so the meaning 'the most difficult or demanding job' is directly derivable from its parts. This compositional pattern (adjective + noun with a superlative) is cross-linguistically common and therefore immediately clear to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

Toughest job puts together toughest, meaning 'very hard', and job, meaning 'work', to paint the picture of the one task that is hardest. So, it is used to say the job that is 'most difficult'.