work
work
/wɜːk/
do job/task
1 intransitive to do something that involves physical or mental effort, especially as part of a job I can't work if I'm cold.
The kids always work hard at school.
work on something The whole team is currently working on the project.
He is working on a new novel.
She's outside, working on the car.
work at something I've been working at my assignment all day.
work with somebody Work with a partner to solve the problem.
We work closely with clients to develop specific solutions.
+ noun Doctors often work very long hours.
He works shifts at a metal plant.
An architect must work within the confines of the laws of physics.
Employees are motivated to work harder for a variety of different reasons.
I've spent three hours working at this problem.
I work more efficiently on my own.
We worked steadily away all morning.
I got to work with leading architects.
We will continue to work with suppliers and listen to customers.
I have to work unsociable hours at times.
I am willing to work hard to accomplish this.
The police are actively working with different groups in the community.
She is working on an important murder case.
They are working in close partnership with the local council.
She met other artists who worked in similar ways to her.
The department works on issues of special concern to women.
They don't want to work seven days a week.
TOPICS JobsA1
Collocations
adverb
hardtirelesslyassiduously…
verb + work
continue tochoose toprefer to…
preposition
asatfor…
Both my parents work.
to work in an office/a factory
work for somebody/something She works for an engineering company.
My father wants me to work for him when I leave school.
work in something I've always worked in education.
He worked in the oil industry for twenty years.
work with somebody/something Do you enjoy working with children?
work as something My son is working as a teacher.
the people you work with
people who have worked closely together over a period of time
A lot of mothers choose to work part-time.
He's working as a builder at the moment.
He was found to be working illegally and was deported.
I work primarily with young children.
She works for an oil company.
He works directly with customers.
I prefer to work as part of a team.
I needed a job which would enable me to work at home.
They have lived and worked in the area all their life.
Many of them had the opportunity to work or study abroad.
The school is a great place to work.
She works with young people.
She is working in the field of historic preservation.
It is great to work in an environment that encourages creativity.
She is still working at the age of 80.
He works from home (= does paid work at home) two days a week.
TOPICS Working lifeA1
make effort
work for something She dedicated her life to working for peace.
work to do something The committee is working to get the prisoners freed.
work together We have proved that different groups can work harmoniously together.
work together to do something The police and the public need to work together to combat crime.
Emergency teams were working around the clock to make the homes secure.
Farmers must work together for their own economic good.
We are actively working to increase the number of women in science.
They worked tirelessly to promote the charity.
I'm working on a plan to get out of this situation.
4 transitive work yourself/somebody + adv./prep. to make yourself/somebody work, especially very hard She works herself too hard.
He says they're working him hard.
machine/device/system
The printer isn't working.
How does the device actually work?
Are they any closer to understanding how the brain works?
work by something It works by electricity.
work by doing something The filtration process works by physically removing the contaminants from the water.
My limbs seemed to be working independently of each other.
The machine is tested regularly to make sure it is working properly.
The fish's eyes can work independently of each other.
Both ends must be securely sealed for it to work effectively.
Collocations
adverb
correctly
effectively
efficiently
verb + work
seem to
phrases
work like a charmwork like magicwork to somebody’s advantage
6 transitive work something to make a machine, device, etc. operate Do you know how to work the coffee machine?
The machine is worked by wind power.
have result/effect
The pills the doctor gave me aren't working.
My plan worked, and I got them to agree.
The system seemed to work well.
Everything worked very smoothly.
work on somebody/something His charm doesn't work on me (= does not affect or impress me).
Organic farming works best with a wide variety of crops.
I might have an idea that would work perfectly.
work against somebody Your age can work against you in this job.
work in somebody’s favour Speaking Italian should work in his favour.
You can make your youth work to your advantage.
There were a number of factors that worked against them in the last election.
The fact that you are experienced should work in your favour.
manage
9 transitive work something to manage or operate something to gain benefit from it to work the land (= grow crops on it, etc.)
Boys who didn't go to school worked the land with their fathers.
He works a large area (= selling a company's goods, etc.).
You have to learn how to work the system if you want to succeed.
(figurative) She was a skilful speaker who knew how to work a crowd (= to excite them or make them feel something strongly).
use material
10 transitive to make a material into a particular shape or form by pressing, stretching, hitting it, etc. work something to work clay
to work gold
work something into something to work the mixture into a paste
11 intransitive work in/with something (of an artist, etc.) to use a particular material to produce a picture or other item an artist working in oils
a craftsman working with wool
of part of face/body
He stared at me in horror, his mouth working.
move gradually
+ adv./prep. It will take a while for the drug to work out of your system.
work your way + adv./prep. (figurative) He worked his way to the top of his profession.
work yourself/something + adj. I was tied up, but managed to work myself free.
+ adj. The screw had worked loose.
Idioms
Phrasal Verbs
work
/wɜːk/
job/task
1 uncountable (used without the) the job that a person does especially in order to earn money He started work as a security guard.
I'm still looking for work.
It is difficult to find work in the present economic climate.
She's planning to return to work once the children start school.
full-time/part-time/unpaid/voluntary work
out of work She had been out of work (= without a job) for a year.
in work (British English) They are in work (= have a job).
What line of work are you in (= what type of work do you do)?
off work She's been off work (= not going to work) with a bad back since July.
A hundred grand for two days a week? Nice work if you can get it!
Full-time work is hard to find.
During the college vacations he does casual work in the local hospital.
Employees must not make personal calls during work hours.
He got laid off, so now he's looking for work again.
She hasn't been in regular work since she left school.
He preferred to make his money from honest work rather than from gambling.
He's been out of work since the factory closed.
Her boss told her she had to increase her work rate.
High income tax can undermine work incentives.
I met him through work.
I'm lucky—I love my work.
It's important to be happy in your work.
Just before he was sixty, he decided to give up work.
Many unemployed people welcome the chance to do purposeful work, even if unpaid.
She has just returned to work after the birth of her child.
She is now looking for paid work outside the home.
He stops work at the end of this month.
Some parents of young children choose not to go out to work.
What time does work start in the morning?
With so much unemployment, I'm lucky to be in work.
Work's going well at the moment.
Any kind of work with kids would suit him fine.
He loves his work as a stage manager.
She's been out of work for over a year.
I'm looking for any kind of construction work.
It is a country where most women with young children are in paid work.
It's very difficult to find work at the moment.
Would you give up work if you won the lottery?
Most of us find it difficult to balance work and home life.
They contacted the police when she did not report for work.
She was already there when he arrived for work the following morning.
I can't take any more time off work.
She has to travel abroad a lot for work.
He found some seasonal work on a farm.
It was difficult to get work because of the economic depression.
Collocations
adjective
verb + work
work + verb
work + noun
week…
preposition
at work
in (your) work
off work
phrases
a line of worka place of work
2 uncountable (used without the) the place where you do your job; the time that you spend there I go to work at 8 o'clock.
I was late for work again.
I have to leave work early today.
Her friends from work came to see her in the hospital.
I get on well with my work colleagues.
a pleasant work environment
at work The new legislation concerns health and safety at work.
before/after work I like to go for a run after work.
I go to work by bus.
When do you leave for work?
What time do you knock off work tonight?
What time do you finish work?
We had a party at work.
‘Where's John?’ ‘He's still at work.’
I travel four hours each day to and from work.
Did you have a good day3 at work?
3 uncountable the duties that you have and the activities that you do as part of your job Police work is mainly routine.
The accountant described his work to the sales staff.
Ambulance crews alternate between emergency and routine work.
People went about their daily work despite the war.
The assistant manager supervises work on the factory floor.
We give grants to support the work of voluntary organizations.
They think that caring for children is women's work.
Sales reps meet up monthly to coordinate their work.
They lost the work to a competitor.
What does the work involve?
The work comes in bursts according to the time of year.
Her work consists of drawing up and coordinating schedules.
An independent report has described some work practices in the industry as old-fashioned.
Taking care of a baby is hard work.
Whenever am I going to do all this work?
There is plenty of work to be done in the garden.
Stop talking and get on with your work.
He completed the work shortly before his death.
important work being undertaken by volunteers
Big football matches make a lot of work for the police.
I have some work for you to do.
It's time to get down to work.
We get far too much work at this time of year.
I need to wear glasses for close work.
I think I'd better try and get some work done.
I've got lots of work to do today.
I've taken on more work than I have time to do.
It will take a month to clear the backlog of work.
All these visitors make a lot of work for me.
Pressure of work forced him to cancel his holiday.
It's hard work trying to get him to do a few things for himself.
Small children make a lot of work for their parents.
I had lots of work to do.
That work can wait until tomorrow.
How much will the work cost?
He has some freelance work at the moment.
How's the work going this morning?
He's willing to do extra work to get the project finished on time.
Making time for work and play is not easy.
They were awarded a grant to continue their work.
With five of us it was only a few hours of work.
Collocations
adjective
hardarduousback-breaking…
… of work
bitpiece
verb + work
carry outdoput in…
work + verb
comewaitgo…
work + noun
ethicratehabit…
preposition
at workwork onwork with…
phrases
a backlog of workkeep up the good workyour life’s work
5 uncountable materials needed or used for doing work, especially books, papers, etc. She often brings work (= for example, files and documents) home with her from the office.
His work was spread all over the floor.
SEE ALSO paperwork
effort
6 uncountable the use of physical strength or mental power in order to do or make something She earned her grades through sheer hard work.
work on something We began work on the project last year.
They performed pioneering work on the treatment of cancer.
Work continues on renovating the hotel.
work of doing something The work of building the bridge took six months.
The art collection was his life's work.
She set them to work painting the fence.
SEE ALSO donkey work, fieldwork
All the construction work was carried out in 2001.
We're going to have some building work done on the house.
Work on the project was halted.
Work came to a complete standstill when rumours of redundancies started to circulate.
Work came to a complete halt in the summer.
Through their tireless work, they proved his innocence.
The show is the product of two years' intensive work.
They began work on the project last year.
It doesn't require skill—it's a matter of sheer hard work.
In accepting the award, she mentioned the sterling work of her assistants.
I really appreciate all your hard work.
classroom activities involving collaborative work between children
The hotel manager thanked the staff and told them to keep up the good work.
He did pioneering work on microbes.
She's put in a lot of work on the design.
The poorly designed bridge needs remedial work to make it safe.
She's done a lot of work with disadvantaged children.
She's only allowed to do a little light work because of her bad arm.
To carry out accurate market research requires a huge amount of work.
They employ a couple of young men to do the heavy work.
He's been hard at work all morning.
I have to do some work on the car before it'll be ready.
She never does a stroke of work.
Children can learn good work habits at school.
The research institute needs funds in order to carry on its valuable work.
The construction company has three work crews of five men each.
Engine maintenance is dirty work.
The showroom has been designed so that people can see work in progress.
I'm always exhausted after a day's work.
She praised the hard work and dedication of the staff.
His economic development work is widely known.
It took three months to complete the work.
Work has begun on the restoration of the house.
Collocations Dictionary
adjective
hardarduousback-breaking…
… of work
bitpiece
verb + work
carry outdoput in…
work + verb
comewaitgo…
work + noun
ethicratehabit…
preposition
at workwork onwork with…
phrases
a backlog of workkeep up the good workyour life’s work…
product of work
7 uncountable a thing or things that are produced as a result of work She's an artist whose work I really admire.
outstanding work in this area/field
Is this all your own work (= did you do it without help from others)?
The book is a detailed and thorough piece of work covering all aspects of the subject.
He left a substantial body of work—drawings and watercolours as well as oils.
The degree show gives students a chance to exhibit their work in central London.
Her work appears at the Museum of Contemporary Art this summer.
State inspectors have cast doubt on claims of shoddy work on the new Bay Bridge.
Her work can be seen in most of the major European galleries.
A love of landscape informs all his work.
The finished work will be on view in the city art gallery.
These paintings are more abstract than her previous work.
It was an interesting piece of work.
The new president spent the first year undoing the work of his predecessor.
We're supposed to hand in this work tomorrow.
His written work is the best in the class.
Nice work, James! I'm impressed.
Work produced on a computer tends to look more professional.
The report is the joint work of an economist and a sociologist.
They published a book about her life and work.
This study extends earlier work by the research team.
His recent work has more energy and creativity.
The exhibition features original works by leading sculptors.
Her later work was more traditional.
a large volume of published work on world architecture
They strive to create work that is innovative.
book/music/art
8 countable a book, piece of music, painting, etc. the collected/complete works of Tolstoy
works of fiction/literature
Chopin’s piano works
Beethoven composed his greatest works in the latter part of his life.
work by somebody He recognized the sketch as an early work by Degas.
COMPARE opus
SEE ALSO work of art
a work entitled ‘The Sacrifice’
The film is based on an early work by Alan Moore.
The town hall is exhibiting works by local artists.
a work entitled ‘Forward Pass’
a work consisting of twelve small blank canvases
Her portfolio includes published works in several magazines.
a work by an unknown 18th-century writer
The gallery is staging a special exhibition of Monet's early works.
She's studying the theme of death in the works of Beckett.
Picasso's mature works
People are using file-sharing to steal copyrighted works.
Over the next two years, the company is putting on the complete works of Brecht.
Her latest novel is a work of genius.
Her book is still considered the definitive work on beetles.
He does mainly commissioned portrait works.
The work represents a synthesis of the natural and the artificial.
They discovered that his CV was a complete work of fiction.
medieval literary works
Collocations Dictionary
adjective
classicfinegreat…
… of work
seriescollectionexhibit…
verb + work
composecreateproduce…
work + verb
be called somethingbe entitled somethingbe titled something…
preposition
in a/the workwork by
phrases
a work of arta work of fictiona work of literature…
result of action
9 uncountable work (of somebody/something) the result of an action; what is done by somebody The damage is clearly the work of vandals.
building/repairing
10 works plural (often in compounds) activities involving building or repairing something roadworks
They expanded the shipyards and started engineering works.
A contract can ensure that landlords carry out the works for which they are legally responsible.
SEE ALSO public works
A contraflow is in operation at the works near Junction 5.
The works will continue until the end of July.
We are planning to carry out major works on the site.
Collocations
adjective
extensivemajorroad…
verb + works
carry outplanannounce…
works + verb
continuego onbe completed…
preposition
at the work
factory
an engineering works
a brickworks
Raw materials were carried to the works by barge.
The works at Bury turned out thousands of television sets a week.
the night shift at the works
The smell is believed to have originated from the sewage works.
Scotland's biggest water treatment works
Collocations
adjective
brickironsteel…
verb + works
opencloseclose down…
works + verb
opencloseclose down…
works + noun
managersupervisorcanteen…
preposition
at the work
parts of machine
12 the works plural the moving parts of a machine, etc. everything
13 the works plural (informal) everything We went to the chip shop and had the works: fish, chips, gherkins, mushy peas.
physics
Idioms
all in a day’s work
part of your normal working life and not unusual
Swimming with sharks or training a tiger cub—it's all in a day's work for animal wrangler Chris Bolton.
all work and no play (makes Jack a dull boy)
(saying) it is not healthy to spend all your time working; you need to relax too
at work
having an effect on something
She suspected that secret influences were at work.
at work (on something) busy doing something
He is still at work on the painting.
Danger—men at work.
the devil makes work for idle hands
(saying) people who do not have enough to do often start to do wrong
She blamed the crimes on the local jobless teenagers. ‘The devil makes work for idle hands,’ she would say.
(do somebody’s) dirty work
(to do) the unpleasant or dishonest jobs that somebody else does not want to do
Next time you can get somebody else to do your dirty work for you!
He always gets someone else to do the dirty work for him.
The drugs gang used children to do their dirty work for them.
get (down) to/set to work
to begin; to make a start
We set to work on the outside of the house (= for example, painting it).
Let's get to work.
give somebody the works
(informal) to give or tell somebody everything
go/set about your work
to do/start to do your work
She went cheerfully about her work.
good works
kind acts to help others
have your work cut out
(informal) to be likely to have difficulty doing something
You'll have your work cut out to get there by nine o'clock.
TOPICS Difficulty and failureC2
in the works
something that is in the works is being discussed, planned or prepared and will happen or exist soon
SYNONYM in the pipeline
a job of work
(British English, old-fashioned or formal) work that you are paid to do or that must be done
There was a job of work waiting for him that he was not looking forward to.
make hard work of something
to use more time or energy on a task than is necessary
make light work of something
to do something quickly and with little effort
make short work of something/somebody
to defeat, deal with something/somebody quickly
Liverpool made short work of the opposition (= in a football match).
He made short work of his lunch (= ate it quickly).
Mike made short work of fixing the engine.
many hands make light work
(saying) used to say that a job is made easier if a lot of people help
a nasty piece of work
(British English, informal) a person who is unpleasant, unkind or dishonest
Don’t trust him; he’s a nasty piece of work.
He's a thoroughly nasty piece of work.
nice work!
(informal, especially British English) used to show you are pleased when somebody has done something well
You did a good job today. Nice work, James!
nice work if you can get it
(informal) used when you wish that you had somebody’s success or good luck and think they have achieved it with little effort
He was paid £200 for a ten-minute speech? Nice work if you can get it.
TOPICS SuccessC2
(throw) a spanner in the works
(British English)
(North American English (throw) a (monkey) wrench in the works)
(to cause) a delay or problem with something that somebody is planning or doing
TOPICS Difficulty and failureC2
too much like hard work
needing too much effort
I can't be bothered making a hot meal—it's too much like hard work.
the work of a moment, second, etc.
(formal) a thing that takes a very short time to do
It was the work of a few minutes to hide the damage.
Word Origin
Old English weorc (noun), wyrcan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch werk and German Werk, from an Indo-European root shared by Greek ergon.