work someone's butt off

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

Synonym of work someone's ass off.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

làm việc chăm chỉ

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Register: slang, vulgar

Where it’s used: Used American English

Examples

Her son, Dominic, had been ranked third at the end of his junior year, but had “worked his butt off this year,” she said.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “work someone's butt off” mean?

Synonym of work someone's ass off.

Is “work someone's butt off” formal or informal?

work someone's butt off is generally slang, vulgar.