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work - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'work' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Work [ n.]
- Exertion of strength or faculties; physical or intellectual effort directed to an end; industrial activity; toil; employment; sometimes, specifically, physically labor.
- The matter on which one is at work; that upon which one spends labor; material for working upon; subject of exertion; the thing occupying one; business; duty; as, to take up one's work; to drop one's work.
- That which is produced as the result of labor; anything accomplished by exertion or toil; product; performance; fabric; manufacture; in a more general sense, act, deed, service, effect, result, achievement, feat.
- Specifically: (a) That which is produced by mental labor; a composition; a book; as, a work, or the works, of Addison. (b) Flowers, figures, or the like, wrought with the needle; embroidery.
- Structures in civil, military, or naval engineering, as docks, bridges, embankments, trenches, fortifications, and the like; also, the structures and grounds of a manufacturing establishment; as, iron works; locomotive works; gas works.
- The moving parts of a mechanism; as, the works of a watch.
- Manner of working; management; treatment; as, unskillful work spoiled the effect.
- The causing of motion against a resisting force. The amount of work is proportioned to, and is measured by, the product of the force into the amount of motion along the direction of the force. See Conservation of energy, under Conservation, Unit of work, under Unit, also Foot pound, Horse power, Poundal, and Erg.
- Ore before it is dressed.
- Performance of moral duties; righteous conduct.
- To exert one's self for a purpose; to put forth effort for the attainment of an object; to labor; to be engaged in the performance of a task, a duty, or the like.
- Hence, in a general sense, to operate; to act; to perform; as, a machine works well.
- Hence, figuratively, to be effective; to have effect or influence; to conduce.
- To carry on business; to be engaged or employed customarily; to perform the part of a laborer; to labor; to toil.
- To be in a state of severe exertion, or as if in such a state; to be tossed or agitated; to move heavily; to strain; to labor; as, a ship works in a heavy sea.
- To make one's way slowly and with difficulty; to move or penetrate laboriously; to proceed with effort; -- with a following preposition, as down, out, into, up, through, and the like; as, scheme works out by degrees; to work into the earth.
- To ferment, as a liquid.
- To act or operate on the stomach and bowels, as a cathartic.
2 . Work [ v. t.]
- To labor or operate upon; to give exertion and effort to; to prepare for use, or to utilize, by labor.
- To produce or form by labor; to bring forth by exertion or toil; to accomplish; to originate; to effect; as, to work wood or iron into a form desired, or into a utensil; to work cotton or wool into cloth.
- To produce by slow degrees, or as if laboriously; to bring gradually into any state by action or motion.
- To influence by acting upon; to prevail upon; to manage; to lead.
- To form with a needle and thread or yarn; especially, to embroider; as, to work muslin.
- To set in motion or action; to direct the action of; to keep at work; to govern; to manage; as, to work a machine.
- To cause to ferment, as liquor.

Meaning of 'work' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . work [ n]
Meaning (1):
- the occupation for which you are paid
Example in sentence:
  • a lot of people are out of work;
  • he is looking for employment
Meaning (2):
- a product produced or accomplished through the effort or activity or agency of a person or thing
Example in sentence:
  • erosion is the work of wind or water over time;
  • he was indebted to the pioneering work of John Dewey;
  • it is not regarded as one of his more memorable works;
  • the symphony was hailed as an ingenious work;
  • the work of an active imagination
Meaning (3):
- a place where work is done
Example in sentence:
  • he arrived at work early today
Meaning (4):
- the total output of a writer or artist (or a substantial part of it)
Example in sentence:
  • he studied the entire Wagnerian oeuvre;
  • Picasso's work can be divided into periods
Meaning (5):
- applying the mind to learning and understanding a subject (especially by reading)
Example in sentence:
  • mastering a second language requires a lot of work;
  • no schools offer graduate study in interior design
Meaning (6):
- activity directed toward making or doing something
Example in sentence:
  • she checked several points needing further work
Meaning (7):
- (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
Example in sentence:
  • work equals force times distance
8 . work [ v]
Meaning (8):
- cause to happen or to occur as a consequence
Example in sentence:
  • bring comments;
  • I cannot work a miracle;
  • play a joke;
  • The rain brought relief to the drought-stricken area;
  • wreak havoc
Meaning (9):
- cause to operate or function
Example in sentence:
  • Can you work an electric drill?;
  • This pilot works the controls
Meaning (10):
- prepare for crops
Example in sentence:
  • cultivate the land;
  • Work the soil
Meaning (11):
- find the solution to (a problem or question) or understand the meaning of
Example in sentence:
  • did you get it?;
  • Did you get my meaning?;
  • did you solve the problem?;
  • He could not work the math problem;
  • this unpleasant situation isn't going to work itself out;
  • Work out your problems with the boss
Meaning (12):
- be employed
Example in sentence:
  • Do you want to work after the age of 60?;
  • Is your husband working again?;
  • My wife never worked;
  • She never did any work because she inherited a lot of money;
  • She works as a waitress to put herself through college
Meaning (13):
- perform as expected when applied
Example in sentence:
  • Does this old car still run well?;
  • The washing machine won't go unless it's plugged in;
  • This old radio doesn't work anymore
Meaning (14):
- make something, usually for a specific function
Example in sentence:
  • Form cylinders from the dough;
  • shape a figure;
  • She molded the rice balls carefully;
  • Work the metal into a sword
Meaning (15):
- use or manipulate to one's advantage
Example in sentence:
  • He exploit the new taxation system;
  • he works his parents for sympathy;
  • She knows how to work the system
Meaning (16):
- cause to work
Example in sentence:
  • he is working his servants hard
Meaning (17):
- move in an agitated manner
Example in sentence:
  • His fingers worked with tension
Meaning (18):
- have an effect or outcome; often the one desired or expected
Example in sentence:
  • How does your idea work in practice?;
  • The breaks of my new car act quickly;
  • The medicine works only if you take it with a lot of water;
  • The voting process doesn't work as well as people thought;
  • This method doesn't work
Meaning (19):
- exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
Example in sentence:
  • I will work hard to improve my grades;
  • she worked hard for better living conditions for the poor
Meaning (20):
- make uniform
Example in sentence:
  • knead dough;
  • the data have been uniformized;
  • work the clay until it is soft
Meaning (21):
- proceed along a path
Example in sentence:
  • make one's way into the forest;
  • work one's way through the crowd
Meaning (22):
- give a workout to
Example in sentence:
  • My personal trainer works me hard;
  • Some parents exercise their infants;
  • this puzzle will exercise your mind;
  • work one's muscles
Meaning (23):
- shape, form, or improve a material
Example in sentence:
  • process iron;
  • work stone into tools;
  • work the metal
Meaning (24):
- proceed towards a goal or along a path or through an activity
Example in sentence:
  • She was working on her second martini when the guests arrived;
  • Start from the bottom and work towards the top;
  • work your way through every problem or task
Meaning (25):
- have and exert influence or effect
Example in sentence:
  • She worked on her friends to support the political candidate;
  • The artist's work influenced the young painter
Meaning (26):
- operate in a certain place, area, or specialty
Example in sentence:
  • She works the night clubs;
  • The salesman works the Midwest;
  • This artist works mostly in acrylics
Meaning (27):
- go sour or spoil
Example in sentence:
  • The cream has turned--we have to throw it out;
  • The milk has soured;
  • The wine worked
Meaning (28):
- gratify and charm, usually in order to influence
Example in sentence:
  • the political candidate worked the crowds
Meaning (29):
- provoke or excite
Example in sentence:
  • The rock musician worked the crowd of young girls into a frenzy
Meaning (30):
- behave in a certain way when handled
Example in sentence:
  • The soft metal works well;
  • This dough does not work easily
Meaning (31):
- arrive at a certain condition through repeated motion
Example in sentence:
  • The stitches of the hem worked loose after she wore the skirt many times
Meaning (32):
- move into or onto
Example in sentence:
  • the student worked a few jokes into his presentation;
  • work the body onto the flatbed truck;
  • work the raisins into the dough
Meaning (33):
- cause to undergo fermentation
Example in sentence:
  • The vintner worked the wine in big oak vats;
  • We ferment the grapes for a very long time to achieve high alcohol content
Meaning (34):
- operate in or through
Example in sentence:
  • Work the phones

Nearby Words:

worble word word-catcher wordbook worded worder wordily wordiness wording wordish

See 'work' also in:

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