# menial

/ˈminiəɫ/ (US) · /mˈiːnɪəl/ (UK) · CEFR C1 · Noun

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/menial
Updated: 2026-05-20

## Definition

a job that is very boring, hard, or low in status. You use this to describe work that feels like a chore rather than a meaningful task.

For teachers: a task or job that is considered low-status, tedious, or unskilled. Often used to describe work that is perceived as a burden or a lack of personal value.

## Examples

- The office work felt like a menial task to him.
- After years of working a menial job, she decided to go back to school to learn a new trade.
- The protagonist's journey from a life of menial labor to one of intellectual pursuit serves as a central theme of the novel, highlighting the social mobility of the era.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.