Work definition

Work as a verb

1. exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity; work

   "I will work hard to improve my grades"

2. be employed

   "Is your husband working again?"

   Same sense: do work

3. have an effect or outcome; often the one desired or expected

   "The voting process doesn't work as well as people thought"

   Same sense: act

4. perform as expected when applied

   "This old radio doesn't work anymore"

   Same sense: go, run, function, operate

5. shape, form, or improve a material

   "work stone into tools"

   Same sense: work on, process

6. give a workout to

   "My personal trainer works me hard"

   Same sense: work out, exercise

7. proceed along a path

   "work one's way through the crowd"

   Same sense: make

8. operate in a certain place, area, or specialty

   "She works the night clubs"

9. proceed towards a goal or along a path or through an activity

   "work your way through every problem or task"

10. move in an agitated manner

    "His fingers worked with tension"

11. cause to happen or to occur as a consequence

    "I cannot work a miracle"

    Same sense: make for, play, bring, wreak

12. cause to work

    "he is working his servants hard"

    Same sense: put to work

13. prepare for crops

    "Work the soil"

    Same sense: crop, cultivate

14. behave in a certain way when handled

    "This dough does not work easily"

15. have and exert influence or effect

    "The artist's work influenced the young painter"

    Same sense: act upon, influence

16. operate in or through

    "Work the phones"

17. cause to operate or function

    "This pilot works the controls"

18. provoke or excite

    "The rock musician worked the crowd of young girls into a frenzy"

19. gratify and charm, usually in order to influence

    "the political candidate worked the crowds"

20. make something, usually for a specific function

    "Work the metal into a sword"

    Same sense: form, shape, forge, mold, mould

21. move into or onto

    "work the raisins into the dough"

22. to mix into a homogeneous mass

    "work the clay until it is soft"

    Same sense: knead

23. use or manipulate to one's advantage

    "She knows how to work the system"

    Same sense: exploit

24. find the solution to (a problem or question) or understand the meaning of

    "Work out your problems with the boss"

    Same sense: work out, figure out, solve, puzzle out, lick

25. cause to undergo fermentation

    "The vintner worked the wine in big oak vats"

    Same sense: ferment

26. go sour or spoil

    "The wine worked"

    Same sense: turn, sour, ferment

27. arrive at a certain condition through repeated motion

    "The stitches of the hem worked loose after she wore the skirt many times"

Work as a noun

28. activity directed toward making or doing something

    "she checked several points needing further work"

29. 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"

    Same sense: piece of work

30. the occupation for which you are paid

    "a lot of people are out of work"

    Same sense: employment

31. applying the mind to learning and understanding a subject (especially by reading)

    "mastering a second language requires a lot of work"

    Same sense: study

32. (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 t

    "work equals force times distance"

33. a place where work is done

    "he arrived at work early today"

    Same sense: workplace

34. the total output of a writer or artist (or a substantial part of it)

    "Picasso's work can be divided into periods"

    Same sense: body of work, oeuvre

Synonyms and antonyms

• do work
• act definition
• go definition
• run definition
• function
• operate
• work on
• process definition
• work out
• exercise
• make definition
• make for
• play definition
• bring definition
• wreak
• put to work
• crop
• cultivate
• act upon
• influence
• form definition
• shape
• forge
• mold

Opposite: idle.

All synonyms of work, sense by sense

How to say work

Work has 1 syllable and rhymes with network. Syllable counts and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary.

Words that rhyme with work

• network
• framework
• homework
• artwork
• jerk
• clerk
• burke
• kirk
• paperwork
• teamwork
• dirk
• turk

All 51 words that rhyme with work

WORK in word games

Scrabble

11

Words With Friends

11

Anagrams

0

Is WORK a valid Scrabble word? Yes, it is in the ENABLE list most word games use. Check WORK in the word checker, or unscramble WORK to see the shorter words in its letters.