Work crossword clue

The most likely answers for the crossword clue “Work” are PLAY, TURN or FORM, with 4 letters. Below are 104 answers from 3 to 12 letters, best match first in each length, then what each top answer means and how to tell them apart.

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The best answers, explained

ACT 3 letters · verb

have an effect or outcome; often the one desired or expected “The breaks of my new car act quickly”

PLAY 4 letters · verb

cause to happen or to occur as a consequence “play a joke”

BRING 5 letters · verb

cause to happen or to occur as a consequence “bring comments”

OEUVRE 6 letters · noun

the total output of a writer or artist (or a substantial part of it) “he studied the entire Wagnerian oeuvre”

PROCESS 7 letters · verb

shape, form, or improve a material “process iron”

FUNCTION 8 letters · verb

perform as expected when applied

INFLUENCE 9 letters · verb

have and exert influence or effect “The artist's work influenced the young painter”

EMPLOYMENT 10 letters · noun

the occupation for which you are paid “he is looking for employment”

APPLICATION 11 letters · noun

the work of applying something “the doctor prescribed a topical application of iodine”

ORGANIZATION 12 letters · noun

a group of people who work together

Telling them apart

With 4 squares, PLAY, TURN, FORM, CROP, SOUR and LICK all fit. The first letter tells them all apart: P → PLAY · T → TURN · F → FORM · C → CROP · S → SOUR · L → LICK. Fill in that crossing answer first.

With 5 squares, BRING, STUDY, SHAPE, SOLVE, FORGE and MOULD all fit. The fourth letter tells them all apart: N → BRING · D → STUDY · P → SHAPE · V → SOLVE · G → FORGE · L → MOULD. Fill in that crossing answer first.

With 3 squares, ACT, JOB, SIT, PEN, DIG and VET all fit. The first letter tells them all apart: A → ACT · J → JOB · S → SIT · P → PEN · D → DIG · V → VET. Fill in that crossing answer first.

Other forms of this clue

Clues often use another form of the word, and the answer then takes the same form: “worked” wants an answer that ends the same way.

What “work” means

• verb: exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity; work (“I will work hard to improve my grades”)
• verb: be employed (“Is your husband working again?”)
• verb: have an effect or outcome; often the one desired or expected (“The voting process doesn't work as well as people thought”)
• verb: perform as expected when applied (“This old radio doesn't work anymore”)

A clue usually points at one of these senses, so the right answer is the one that matches the sense the puzzle means: check it against the crossing words.

About these answers

We match the clue against our own thesaurus and dictionary (Open English WordNet): words that mean the same as WORK, and words whose definition is WORK. We don't copy answers from newspaper puzzles, so a clue that leans on trivia or wordplay may need the crossing letters instead.