French word

bosser

Pronunciation

IPA/bose/

Meaning

  • verbwork

Example

Je vais bosser toute la journée.

I'm going to work all day.

Illustration for bosser (work)

More examples

Il faut bosser dur pour progresser.

You have to work hard to improve.

Core concept

A focused worker spending sustained effort on a concrete task, whether at work or while studying.

Common phrases

  • aller bosser

    go to work

  • bosser dur

    work hard

  • bosser à plein temps

    work full-time

Similar words

travailler: To work to earn money or carry out professional duties and tasks.
étudier: To learn from books or other materials at school or through self-study.

Definition in French

Veut dire travailler (souvent intensément) ou s'appliquer à une tâche; il peut se construire sur un complément direct (bosser un dossier).

Word origin

Bosser is a late-nineteenth-century colloquial verb whose exact origin is uncertain; studies have associated it with bosse and regional bossar.

Usage tips

  • Bosser can take a direct object, as in bosser un dossier, where English usually says work on a file or work on a case.

Other meanings

  • studyverb

Opposites

  • se reposerrestverb
  • chômerbe unemployedverb

Related words

  • bosseurhard workernoun
  • bosseusehard workernoun

Word lists with this word