# work

Pronunciation: say "WURK" US /wɝk/, UK /wɜːk/, AUS /wɵːk/

## Verb

1. To have a job or do one's job, in a particular place, for an employer, in a particular role, or with particular people or things (with in, at, for, as or with).
   - Simple: To have a job, for example in an office, for a company, as a teacher, or with children.
   - _We work with partners in three countries._
   - _He worked with the same team for years._
2. To do a task using physical or mental powers; to labor.
   - Simple: To do a job or task using your body or your mind.
   - _The volunteers had to work side by side, hauling sandbags along the riverbank._
   - _They worked until the job was finished._
3. To function correctly, acting as intended or achieving what it was designed for.
   - Simple: To do what it is meant to do, or to have the result you wanted.
   - _The old radio still works if you hit it._
   - _Threats don't work on her._
9. To operate in or cover a particular territory or specialty as part of one's job, as an officer works a beat.
   - Simple: To do your job in a certain place, area or field.
   - _She works the nightclubs on weekends._
   - _Officers work a beat for months to learn it._
10. To move or make progress gradually or with difficulty, or to make something move in this way; often in work one's way or work its way.
   - Simple: To move slowly or with effort, little by little, or to make something move like that.
   - _Water will work its way into any crack._
   - _The hikers worked their way up the rocky trail as the light faded._
12. To bring about or cause (a result), especially in legal language and in set phrases such as work a miracle.
   - Simple: In law and some set phrases, to cause something to happen or result.
   - _The clause does not work a change in ownership._
   - _Time worked its usual changes on the town._
13. To manipulate a material so as to give it form or shape, or to improve it.
   - Simple: To shape a material or handle it to make it better.
   - _Bakers work the dough until it is smooth._
   - _The silver had been worked into thin leaves._
14. To wear or perform something successfully or to advantage; to pull off. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To wear or do something with style and confidence.
   - _"Work it!" the photographer shouted as the model strode down the runway._
   - _He works a plain suit better than anyone._
15. To influence, excite, or manipulate people or a situation to one's advantage, as in 'work the room' or 'work the system'.
   - Simple: To cleverly use or influence people or rules to get what you want.
   - _Lobbyists work the rules to their clients' benefit._
   - _He works every loophole he can find._
16. To use, control, or operate a machine, device, or piece of equipment.
   - Simple: To use or control a machine or other equipment.
   - _The campaign needs ten more volunteers to work the phones on election night._
   - _He worked the phones all afternoon, calling every donor on the list._
20. To force to labor.
   - Simple: To force people or animals to do hard tasks.
   - _The foreman worked the crew through the night._
   - _They work the mules in pairs on the steep track._
21. To extract ore, coal or stone from a mine, quarry or similar source; to mine.
   - Simple: To dig coal, ore or stone out of a mine or quarry.
   - _Small companies work the old coalfields the giants abandoned._
   - _The quarry had been worked out by 1900._
22. To suit a person or situation by being acceptable or convenient, usually followed by "for."
   - Simple: To be good, okay, or easy for someone or for a situation, usually used with "for."
   - _If Friday doesn't work for everyone, we can move the meeting to Monday._
   - _Flexible hours work for some teams but not for others._

## Noun

4. Labor or occupation; a job.
   - Simple: The job you do to earn money, or the tasks it involves.
   - _Good work is hard to find in a small town._
   - _He went back to work after the holiday._
5. A literary, artistic or intellectual production.
   - Simple: A book, painting, piece of music or other thing that someone creates.
   - _Her last work was a novel about the sea._
   - _The museum owns three works by the painter._
6. Something on which effort is expended; a task or tasks.
   - Simple: A task or tasks that need to be done.
   - _The work piled up while she was away._
   - _Give the new assistant some real work to do._
7. The labor or exertion put into a particular task.
   - Simple: The effort needed to do a particular task.
   - _Digging the garden was more work than we expected._
   - _Planning a wedding is far more work than most couples imagine._
8. The place where one is employed, or the employer one works for, as in 'drive to work' or 'my work pays for training'.
   - Simple: The place where you do your job, or the company you work for.
   - _She drives to work every morning._
   - _There is a gym at work now._
11. Things made or done with a particular material, tool or method, often in combination, as in stonework, needlework or ironwork.
   - Simple: Things made from a certain material or in a certain way, as in stonework or needlework.
   - _The church is famous for its carved stonework._
   - _The silver brooch is decorated with fine filigree work._
18. In physics, the energy transferred when a force moves an object, measured as the force times the distance moved in the direction of the force; more generally, the useful energy a machine or process delivers.
   - Simple: In science, the energy passed to something when a force moves it, or the useful energy a machine gives out.
   - _The work done by the engine equals the force on the piston multiplied by the distance it moves._
   - _Pushing a wall does no work, however tired you get._
19. A discreet, polite way of referring to cosmetic surgery.
   - Simple: A polite way of talking about surgery to change how someone looks.
   - _The actor admitted he'd had a little work done around the eyes before turning fifty._
   - _Fans spent weeks arguing about whether the reality star's new look was makeup or work._
23. A deed someone performs, especially a charitable or morally good one; usually used in the plural.
   - Simple: Something a person does, especially a kind act that helps others. It is usually used in the plural.
   - _The foundation was set up to carry on his good works after his death._
   - _Feeding the hungry has long been counted a work of charity in many faiths._
24. Something brought about by the actions of a particular person, group, or force, typically mentioned to identify who or what was responsible.
   - Simple: The result of what someone or something has done, often used to say who or what caused it.
   - _Police believe the break-in was the work of a professional crew._
   - _The jagged cliffs along the coast are the work of centuries of pounding waves._

## Noun

17. A factory or other industrial plant where goods are produced; in present-day English usually called a works. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A factory where goods are made. People today usually call it a works.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A fortification.
- (noun) In prison slang, violent attacks carried out for a gang.
- (noun) Scripted action presented as if it were genuine.
- (noun) Ore that has not yet been processed.
- (noun) The kit used to inject a drug, such as needles and syringes.
- (noun) Bold, showy self-assurance of the kind a drag performer projects.
- (verb) To get something to move gradually and with effort.
- (verb) To decorate cloth with stitched thread.
- (verb) Of beer, cider or dough, to undergo fermentation and bubble.
- (verb) To set a liquid fermenting, as with yeast.
- (verb) To act on someone's mind or feelings, swaying them.
- (verb) To toss, heave or churn restlessly.
- (verb) Of a material, to respond in a given manner as it is shaped or handled.
- (verb) To bring about a feeling or effect in someone, whether good or harmful.
- (verb) Of a body part, to ache or throb with pain.
- (verb) To perform or carry oneself with bold self-assurance, especially in drag.

## Origin

**Meanings 4–8, 11, 17–19, 23–24** — Old English weorc became the Middle English noun work or werk. Its line goes back through Proto-West Germanic *werk and Proto-Germanic *werką to Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom. Related words include Dutch werk, German Werk and Ancient Greek érgon ("work"), and "erg" and "ergon" are doublets of it.
**Meanings 1–3, 9–10, 12–16, 20–22** — The verb goes back to Old English wyrċan (Mercian wircan), which became Middle English werken and worchen. Before that it comes from Proto-Germanic *wurkijaną ("to work") and Proto-Indo-European *wr̥ǵyéti, which meant "to be working," built on the root *werǵ-. Dutch werken, German wirken and Gothic waurkjan are cognates.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/work (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).