EOD meaning: by the end of the working day
EOD stands for end of day, which at work is when the working day finishes. Unless the person asking says otherwise, it's their working day that counts. To the military, the same three letters mean explosive ordnance disposal.
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EOD in an email or a chat
What a request for EOD asks
EOD is short for end of day. “By EOD” means the work is due today, before the working day is over. The abbreviation was first recorded between 1960 and 1965.
In the UK, close of play is another phrase for the same deadline. EOP, short for end of play, is listed with it as a name for the market close.
Our corporate jargon dictionary has more deadline abbreviations, and only some of them mean today. EOD runs until the end of today, COB until the office shuts, EOW until Friday and EOY until the holidays.
Which hour EOD lands on
EOD usually goes by the sender’s hours. A colleague in London reaches EOD around 5 pm there, which is about noon in New York.
The sender’s time zone is often not yours. 30% of meetings span more than one time zone.
If your own EOD is 5 pm, our how long until 5pm countdown shows how long you have left to finish.
EOD or midnight
In an office, EOD means the end of the working day, hours before midnight. If you’d accept the work up to midnight, write “by midnight” instead.
Read literally, a day ends at midnight. Some people stretch EOD that far when the deadline is theirs.
The EOD update and the EOD price
An EOD update is three lines in the team channel before you log off: what got done, what’s stuck and what’s next. An EOD price is where a stock or an index closed for the day.
The other EODs
Bomb disposal
The military meaning is explosive ordnance disposal, the job of examining an explosive device and making it safe.
EOD as a federal start date
In US federal hiring, EOD is the entry on duty date, a new employee’s official first day. It’s usually the Sunday that starts a two-week pay period.
EOD in medicine, finance and chat
Doctors, lenders, people arguing online and pilots each use EOD for something else.
| Where | What EOD means |
|---|---|
| Medical notes | Every other day |
| Finance and law | Event of default, when a borrower breaks the terms of a loan |
| Online arguments | End of discussion, typed by the person who wants the last word |
| Pilots | End of daylight |
How EOD gets stretched
The 4:50 pm EOD
When an EOD request arrives at 4:50 pm, the work gets done in your evening. The sender opens your reply at 9 the next morning.
The day that ends at 10 pm
For plenty of people, the working day no longer ends at 5.
| After hours | Figure |
|---|---|
| Rise in chats sent outside 9 to 5, in a year | 15% |
| Rise in meetings booked to begin after 8 pm, in a year | 16% |
| Active workers with their inbox open again by 10 pm | 29% |
Asking for EOD so it means one time
Put the hour and the time zone in the request, such as “by 3 pm Pacific today”. Nobody in another office can read that two ways. If you’re the one being asked, reply with the hour you’ll deliver.
An email asking for something by EOD
Subject: Countersigned SOW for the Lisbon office
Hi Priya, the client in Lisbon needs the countersigned SOW by
EOD11 am Chicago time. I land in Chicago at 6 and can check from the taxi. Thanks for turning this around so fast.
EOD in a sentence
Can you send me the numbers by EOD?
Security closed the parking lot while the EOD team checked a suitcase left by the gate.
My EOD is 6 pm in Singapore, Wren, so send it before your lunch.
Every contractor posts an EOD update in the channel, Florin, listing what they did and what's blocked.
Questions about EOD
What does EOD mean in the workplace?
EOD means end of day, so finish the task before the working day ends. If no hour or time zone is named, assume the sender's office hours. Ask when a few hours either way would matter.
What does EOD mean for hiring?
In a job offer it usually means end of day, as in "please reply by EOD Friday". In US federal hiring it's also the entry on duty date, your official first day. That date often falls on the Sunday that starts a pay period.
What is EOD in military terms?
Explosive ordnance disposal, which means examining bombs, mines and other explosive devices and making them safe. The people who do it are EOD technicians.
What does EOP mean in business?
End of play, one of several names for the end of the trading day, alongside EOD, COB and close of play. In British English, close of play also means the end of the working day, a synonym of EOD. In sport, it's when a day's cricket or tennis stops.