admin
admin — noun
1. the routine paperwork, scheduling, and record-keeping that keeps a business, pro
the routine paperwork, scheduling, and record-keeping that keeps a business, project, or household running, often seen as boring but necessary.
Jin spends every Friday morning catching up on admin like invoices and expense reports.
uncountable: catching up on admin
Most of my job is admin — booking meeting rooms, ordering supplies, and chasing signatures.
appositive list shows what admin involves
There is a lot of admin involved in adopting a dog from the shelter.
The new software cuts down on admin so teachers can focus on their lessons.
Bram hired an assistant because the admin was eating into his evenings.
- paperwork
narrower — only the documents, not scheduling or coordinating
- administration
the formal full word; admin is its informal short form
- bureaucracy
negative tone — implies excessive, frustrating procedures
文法句型
a lot of admin
do the admin
用法筆記
Uncountable, used without an article: say 'a lot of admin', not 'a lot of admins' (the plural belongs to sense 2). Common in British English office talk; in formal writing prefer 'administration' or 'administrative work'.
常見錯誤
2. someone with the highest level of access to a website, online group, or computer
someone with the highest level of access to a website, online group, or computer network, who can add or remove users, change settings, and delete content.
Mei is the admin of our hiking club's Facebook group, so she approves new members.
pattern: admin of [an online group]
Only an admin can reset your password if you get locked out of the system.
countable: an admin
The forum has three admins who take turns deleting spam posts.
Esme made her sister an admin on the family blog so she could upload photos.
Please contact an admin if a user is sending offensive messages in the chat.
- administrator
the full formal form; identical meaning, used in job titles and documentation
- moderator
narrower — usually only watches behaviour, may lack full system control
- sysadmin
specifically a network or server admin in IT, not a website group leader
文法句型
the admin of [a site/group]
make somebody an admin
用法筆記
Countable: takes 'a/an', plural 'admins'. Distinguish from sense 1 by structure — this sense refers to a person and is often followed by 'of [a site/group]', whereas sense 1 is uncountable activity. In tech contexts, 'admin' often replaces the longer 'administrator' or 'sysadmin'.
常見錯誤
admin — adjective
1. describing tasks, people, or roles that involve organizing the daily running of
describing tasks, people, or roles that involve organizing the daily running of a business or project rather than its main creative or technical work.
Most of Aiko's admin tasks are sorting receipts and replying to client emails.
attributive: admin tasks
The hospital is hiring three new admin staff to handle patient bookings.
collocation: admin staff
Daniel left his admin role at the school to become a full-time teacher.
The startup tries to keep admin costs low by sharing one office manager.
Volunteers handle the cooking while paid staff cover the admin side of the charity.
- administrative
the formal full form; preferred in writing and after 'be'
- clerical
narrower — focuses on paperwork and routine office tasks
- back-office
specifically tasks not seen by customers
- operational
front-line or core activity, not the supporting paperwork
- creative
contrasted in job ads as the opposite kind of role
文法句型
admin + noun (admin tasks, admin staff, admin role)
用法筆記
Used only before a noun (attributive); you cannot say 'this work is admin' in standard English — use 'administrative' there. Functions as the short, informal partner of 'administrative', and is especially common in job ads and office talk.