admin
/ˈædmɪn/ (bre, ipa) · [ˈædmɪn] /ˈædmɪn/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈæd.mɪn/ (bre, ipa) · [ˈædmɪn] /ˈæd.mɪn/ (ame, ipa)
admin — noun
- adminsingular
- adminsplural
1. the day-to-day management of the paperwork, records, and routine tasks that keep
the day-to-day management of the paperwork, records, and routine tasks that keep an organization, department, or project running.
Brooke spent the whole morning doing admin, filing invoices and updating the staff database.
collocation: doing admin
The new software saves the legal team hours of admin by automating their case notes.
uncountable use: hours of admin
Leo finds admin boring but knows the paperwork keeps the charity running properly.
Anong took over the admin for the conference, booking rooms and printing name badges.
Too much admin leaves teachers with less time to plan their actual lessons.
- paperwork
focuses specifically on documents and forms rather than the whole management process
- clerical work
more formal and narrower, referring to routine office tasks like typing and filing
- back-office operations
business jargon for support functions not visible to customers
用法筆記
'Admin' in this sense is uncountable — you cannot say 'an admin' to refer to a person. 'The admin' means the work or process, not the worker.
常見錯誤
2. a person whose job is to manage and maintain a computer network, website, databa
a person whose job is to manage and maintain a computer network, website, database, or online system — short for 'administrator'.
The website went down, so the team contacted the admin to restore the server.
countable: the admin (a person)
Zola works as a network admin for a hospital, keeping patient records secure.
compound noun: network admin
Nikhil asked the admin to grant him access to the shared project folder.
When the university email system crashed, the admins fixed the problem within an hour.
- administrator
the full form; slightly more formal but means the same thing
- IT manager
broader role that may include planning and budgeting, not just technical maintenance
- sysadmin
informal short form common in technical communities
用法筆記
Unlike sense 1 (uncountable), this sense is countable — 'an admin' means one person, and 'admins' is the plural. Frequently used in compound job titles such as 'system admin', 'network admin', or 'database admin'.
常見錯誤
admin — adjective
- adminpositive
- more admincomparative
- most adminsuperlative
1. relating to the organization, paperwork, and routine tasks needed to keep a busi
relating to the organization, paperwork, and routine tasks needed to keep a business, institution, or activity running — short for 'administrative'.
Manuela applied for an admin assistant job at a local law firm.
compound noun: admin assistant
The school needs more admin support to handle student enrollment records.
collocation: admin support
Gita completed an admin course to improve her office skills and job prospects.
The hospital cut admin costs by moving patient files to a digital system.
- administrative
the full form; interchangeable in most contexts but slightly more formal
- office
used in compounds like 'office work', but 'office' is broader and less specific to management tasks
- clerical
narrower, focusing on routine record-keeping and filing rather than broader management
用法筆記
This adjective form appears almost exclusively before a noun in compound job titles ('admin assistant') or noun phrases ('admin costs', 'admin support'). It is not used predicatively (❌ 'The work is admin').