Noun: work wurk
- Activity directed toward making or doing something
"she checked several points needing further work"
- The occupation for which you are paid
"a lot of people are out of work";
- employment
- A product produced or accomplished through the effort or activity or agency of a person or thing
"it is not regarded as one of his more memorable works"; "the symphony was hailed as an ingenious work"; "he was indebted to the pioneering work of John Dewey"; "the work of an active imagination"; "erosion is the work of wind or water over time"; "it is not regarded as one of his more memorable pieces of work";
- piece of work
- Applying the mind to learning and understanding a subject (especially by reading)
"mastering a second language requires a lot of work";
- study
- The total output of a writer or artist (or a substantial part of it)
"Picasso's work can be divided into periods"; "he studied the entire Wagnerian body of work";
- oeuvre, body of work
- A place where work is done
"he arrived at work early today";
- workplace
- (physics) a manifestation of energy; the transfer of energy from one physical system to another expressed as the product of a force and the distance through which it moves a body in the direction of that force
"work equals force times distance"
- Perform physical or mental labour, for a purpose or out of necessity
"I will work hard to improve my grades"; "she worked hard for better living conditions for the poor"
- Be employed
"Do you want to work after the age of 60?"; "She never did any work because she inherited a lot of money"; "She works as a waitress to put herself through college"; "Is your husband working again?"; "My wife never worked"
- Have a desired or expected effect or outcome
"The voting process doesn't work as well as people thought"; "How does your idea work in practice?"; "This method doesn't work"; "The medicine works only if you take it with a lot of water";
- act
- Perform as intended or designed
"This old radio doesn't work anymore";
- function, operate, go, run
- Shape, form, or improve a material
"work stone into tools"; "work the metal"; "The sculptor worked on the clay for hours";
- work on, process
- Give a workout to
"My personal trainer works me hard"; "work one's muscles"; "She works out at the gym three times a week";
- exercise, work out
- Operate in a certain place, area, or speciality
"This artist works mostly in acrylics"; "She works the night clubs"; "The salesman works the Midwest"
- Proceed towards a goal or along a path or through an activity
"Start from the bottom and work towards the top"; "work your way through every problem or task"; "She was working on her second martini when the guests arrived"
- Cause to operate or function
"This pilot works the controls"; "Can you work an electric drill?"
- Cause to work
"he is working his servants hard"; "The new hires were put to work immediately";
- put to work
- Make something, usually for a specific function
"Work the metal into a sword";
- shape, form, mold [N. Amer], mould [Brit, Cdn], forge
- Have and exert influence or effect
"The artist's work influenced the young painter"; "She worked on her friends to support the political candidate";
- influence, act upon
- Cause to happen or to occur as a consequence
"I cannot work a miracle";
- bring, play, wreak, make for
- Gratify and charm, usually in order to influence
"the political candidate worked the crowds"
- Move into or onto
"work the body onto the flatbed truck"; "work the raisins into the dough"; "the student worked a few jokes into his presentation"
- To mix into a homogeneous mass
"work the clay until it is soft";
- knead
- Use or manipulate to one's advantage
"She knows how to work the system"; "he works his parents for sympathy";
- exploit
- Find the solution to (a problem or question) or understand the meaning of
"Work out your problems with the boss"; "this unpleasant situation isn't going to work itself out"; "He could not work the maths problem"; "The detective worked to unriddle the mystery"; "After hours of work, she finally licked the maths problem";
- solve, work out, figure out, puzzle out, lick [N. Amer, informal], suss [Brit, informal], suss out [Brit, informal], unriddle
- Proceed along a path
"work one's way through the crowd";
- make
- Move in an agitated manner
"His fingers worked with tension"
- (farming) prepare for crops
"Work the soil";
- cultivate, crop
- Behave in a certain way when handled
"This dough does not work easily"; "The soft metal works well"
- Provoke or excite
"The rock musician worked the crowd of young girls into a frenzy"
- Cause to undergo fermentation
"The vintner worked the wine in big oak vats";
- ferment
- Go sour or spoil
"The wine worked";
- sour, turn, ferment
- Arrive at a certain condition through repeated motion
"The stitches of the hem worked loose after she wore the skirt many times"
- Operate in or through
"Work the phones"
Derived forms: works, working, worked
Type of: acquisition, acquit, act, activity, affect, apply, bear, bear on, bear upon, becharm [archaic], become, beguile, behave, bewitch, bring home the bacon [informal], business, captivate, capture, care, carry, catch, change state, charm, come through, come up trumps [Brit, informal], comport, conduct, convert, create, deal, deliver the goods, deport, displace, do, employ, enamor [US], enamour [Brit, Cdn], enchant, end product, energy, entrance, excite, execute, exert, fascinate, fix, free energy, gear up, geographic point, geographical point, get, go, handle, impact, job, learning, line, line of work, make, make from scratch, manage, manipulate, move, occupation, operate, output, pass, perform, prepare, proceed, product, production, ready, run, set, set up, stimulate, stir, succeed, trance [literary], transform, transmute, transubstantiate, turn, turn up trumps [Brit, informal], understand, use, utilise [Brit], utilize, win
Antonym: idle
Encyclopedia: Work, John, House and Mill Site