admin

admin — noun

1. the routine paperwork, scheduling, and record-keeping that keeps a business, pro

1.nounB2
Definition

the routine paperwork, scheduling, and record-keeping that keeps a business, project, or household running, often seen as boring but necessary.

Example

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

Common collocations
  • a lot of admin
  • do the admin
  • cut down on admin
  • deal with admin
  • boring admin
Synonyms
  • 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

Grammar Patterns

a lot of admin

do the admin

Usage Note

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'.

Common Mistakes

I have many admins to finish before lunch.
I have a lot of admin to finish before lunch.
admin in this sense is uncountable, so no plural and no 'many'.
She works in the admin of the hospital.
She works in admin at the hospital.' / 'She works in the administration department of the hospital.
drop 'the' for the activity sense, or use the longer noun for the department.

2. someone with the highest level of access to a website, online group, or computer

2.nounB2
Definition

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.

Example

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

Common collocations
  • the admin of
  • make somebody an admin
  • contact an admin
  • site admin
  • group admin
Synonyms
  • 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

Antonyms
  • user

    an ordinary member without elevated permissions

  • member

    informal counterpart in groups and forums

Grammar Patterns

the admin of [a site/group]

make somebody an admin

Usage Note

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'.

Common Mistakes

My friend is admin in the Discord server.
My friend is an admin in the Discord server.
countable noun, needs 'an'.
The admin job is to delete spam.
The admin's job is to delete spam.' / 'An admin's job is to delete spam.
use the possessive 's when the admin owns the action.

admin — adjective

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four describe the organizing work behind an activity, but the tone and scope differ. 'Admin' is the casual short form, used in everyday office talk for the day-to-day chores: 'I've got loads of admin today.' 'Administration' is the full formal noun and also names the department or governing body that does this work — preferred in writing and job titles ('Head of Administration'). 'Paperwork' is narrower; it covers only the forms and documents ('Bring your paperwork to the front desk'), not phone calls or scheduling. 'Bureaucracy' adds a negative judgement — too many rules, too slow ('The visa bureaucracy was exhausting'). Pick 'admin' when chatting with colleagues, 'administration' for formal writing, 'paperwork' when the focus is documents, and 'bureaucracy' when complaining about red tape.

admin ↗administration ↗paperwork ↗bureaucracy ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • admin tasks
  • admin staff
  • admin role
  • admin costs
  • admin assistant
  • site admin
  • group admin

Phrases

  • a lot of admin
  • do the admin
  • deal with admin
  • cut down on admin
  • make somebody an admin

Prepositions

  • in admin
  • the admin of

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

A 20th-century clipping of 'administration' and 'administrator', both from Latin 'administrare' ('to manage, serve'), which combines 'ad-' ('to') with 'ministrare' ('to attend to, serve'). The short form 'admin' first spread in British office and military slang during the mid-1900s for routine paperwork, and a second meaning grew with computing in the 1980s, when network managers began calling themselves admins. The adjective use ('admin tasks', 'admin staff') followed naturally from the noun.