work

I. noun Etymology: Middle English werk, work, from Old English werc, weorc; akin to Old High German werc work, Greek ergon, Avestan varəzem activity Date: before 12th century 1. activity in which one exerts strength or faculties to do or perform something: a. sustained physical or mental effort to overcome obstacles and achieve an objective or result b. the labor, task, or duty that is one's accustomed means of livelihood c. a specific task, duty, function, or assignment often being a part or phase of some larger activity 2. a. energy expended by natural phenomena b. the result of such energy <

sand dunes are the work of sea and wind

> c. the transference of energy that is produced by the motion of the point of application of a force and is measured by multiplying the force and the displacement of its point of application in the line of action 3. a. something that results from a particular manner or method of working, operating, or devising <

careful police work

> <

clever camera work

> b. something that results from the use or fashioning of a particular material <

porcelain work

> 4. a. a fortified structure (as a fort, earthen barricade, or trench) b. plural structures in engineering (as docks, bridges, or embankments) or mining (as shafts or tunnels) 5. plural but singular or plural in construction a place where industrial labor is carried on ; plant, factory 6. plural the working or moving parts of a mechanism <

the works of a clock

> 7. a. something produced or accomplished by effort, exertion, or exercise of skill <

this book is the work of many hands

> b. something produced by the exercise of creative talent or expenditure of creative effort ; artistic production <

an early work by a major writer

> 8. plural performance of moral or religious acts <

salvation by works

> 9. a. effective operation ; effect, result <

wait for time to do its healing work

> b. manner of working ; workmanship, execution 10. the material or piece of material that is operated upon at any stage in the process of manufacture 11. plural a. everything possessed, available, or belonging <

the whole works, rod, reel, tackle box, went overboard

> <

ordered pizza with the works

> b. subjection to drastic treatment ; all possible abuse — usually used with get <

get the works

> or give <

gave them the works

> Synonyms: work, labor, travail, toil, drudgery, grind mean activity involving effort or exertion. work may imply activity of body, of mind, of a machine, or of a natural force <

too tired to do any work

>. labor applies to physical or intellectual work involving great and often strenuous exertion <

farmers demanding fair compensation for their labor

>. travail is bookish for labor involving pain or suffering <

years of travail were lost when the house burned

>. toil implies prolonged and fatiguing labor <

his lot would be years of back-breaking toil

>. drudgery suggests dull and irksome labor <

an editorial job with a good deal of drudgery

>. grind implies labor exhausting to mind or body <

the grind of the assembly line

>. Synonyms: work, employment, occupation, calling, pursuit, métier, business mean a specific sustained activity engaged in especially in earning one's living. work may apply to any purposeful activity whether remunerative or not <

her work as a hospital volunteer

>. employment implies work for which one has been engaged and is being paid by an employer <

your employment with this firm is hereby terminated

>. occupation implies work in which one engages regularly especially as a result of training <

his occupation as a trained auto mechanic

>. calling applies to an occupation viewed as a vocation or profession <

the ministry seemed my true calling

>. pursuit suggests a trade, profession, or avocation followed with zeal or steady interest <

her family considered medicine the only proper pursuit

>. métier implies a calling or pursuit for which one believes oneself to be especially fitted <

acting was my one and only métier

>. business suggests activity in commerce or the management of money and affairs <

the business of managing a hotel

>. II. adjective Date: 14th century 1. used for work <

a work elephant

> 2. suitable or styled for wear while working <

work clothes

> 3. involving or engaged in work <

a work gang

> <

work hours

> III. verb (worked or wrought; working) Etymology: Middle English werken, worken, from Old English wyrcan; akin to Old English weorc Date: before 12th century transitive verb 1. to bring to pass ; effect <

work miracles

> 2. a. to fashion or create a useful or desired product by expending labor or exertion on ; forge, shape <

work flint into tools

> b. to make or decorate with needlework; especially embroider 3. a. to prepare for use by stirring or kneading b. to bring into a desired form by a gradual process of cutting, hammering, scraping, pressing, or stretching <

work cold steel

> 4. to set or keep in motion, operation, or activity ; cause to operate or produce <

a pump worked by hand

> <

work farmland

> 5. to solve (a problem) by reasoning or calculation — often used with out 6. a. to cause to toil or labor <

worked their horses nearly to death

> b. to make use of ; exploit c. to control or guide the operation of <

switches are worked from a central tower

> 7. a. to carry on an operation or perform a job through, at, in, or along <

the salespeople worked both sides of the street

> <

a sportscaster hired to work the game

> b. to greet and talk with in a friendly way in order to ingratiate oneself or achieve a purpose <

politicians working the crowd

> <

worked the room

> 8. to pay for or achieve with labor or service <

worked my way through college

> <

worked my way up in the company

> 9. a. to get (oneself or an object) into or out of a condition or position by gradual stages b. contrive, arrange <

we can work it so that you can take your vacation

> 10. a. to practice trickery or cajolery on for some end <

worked the management for a free ticket

> b. excite, provoke <

worked myself into a rage

> intransitive verb 1. a. to exert oneself physically or mentally especially in sustained effort for a purpose or under compulsion or necessity b. to perform or carry through a task requiring sustained effort or continuous repeated operations <

worked all day over a hot stove

> c. to perform work or fulfill duties regularly for wages or salary <

works in publishing

> 2. to function or operate according to plan or design <

hinges work better with oil

> 3. to exert an influence or tendency 4. to produce a desired effect or result ; succeed <

a plan that will work

> 5. a. to make way slowly and with difficulty ; move or progress laboriously <

worked up to the presidency

> b. to sail to windward 6. to permit of being worked ; react in a specified way to being worked <

this wood works easily

> 7. a. to be in agitation or restless motion b. ferment 1 c. to move slightly in relation to another part d. to get into a specified condition by slow or imperceptible movements <

the knot worked loose

>