Word
work
US/ˈwɝk/
UK/wˈɜːk/
Definition
n. the job you do to earn money. It can also mean the tasks you need to do at your job or at home.
n. Activity involving mental or physical effort to achieve a result, often for payment. The term can also refer to the tasks required for a job, a place of employment, or a specific creation.
Examples
“I have a lot of work to do today.”
“Her work involves managing projects and leading a team of five people.”
“The artist's later works are characterized by a profound melancholy, reflecting a shift in his personal philosophy and a departure from his earlier style.”
Examples
simple
“I have a lot of work to do today.”
contextual
“Her work involves managing projects and leading a team of five people.”
complex
“The artist's later works are characterized by a profound melancholy, reflecting a shift in his personal philosophy and a departure from his earlier style.”
Usage
The noun is typically uncountable when referring to employment or effort ('I have work to do'). It is countable when referring to a specific creation ('a work of art').
Pitfall
I have many works to do.
I have a lot of work to do.
When referring to tasks or employment, 'work' is uncountable and cannot be pluralized. The plural 'works' refers to creations, like books or art.
Confusables
Job is a countable noun for a specific role; work is an uncountable noun for the effort or activity itself.
RememberA job is a title; work is the task.
Collocations
Word family
Related words
Idioms
busy work — Work or activity performed with the intention or result of occupying time, and not necessarily to accomplish something productive; routine work of low priority undertaken for the sake of avoiding idleness.
close enough for government work — Adequate; acceptable as government work, imperfect but not worth the time nor effort of improving.
crazy enough to work — Acknowledging that an idea, plan, or strategy seems foolish, implausible, or risky, yet might succeed precisely because of its unconventional or unexpected nature.
detective work — investigative research
dirty work — One or more unpleasant tasks, assignments, or employment duties, especially those of a disreputable or illicit nature.
do the work — To take part in social justice activism; to fight against racism, oppression, etc.
don't call me sir, I work for a living — Used by senior enlisted military personnel to indicate that they are not commissioned officers.
donkey work — Work that is difficult, boring, and routine.
go to work — To beat up, to batter.
God's work — Any type of work that produces positive or constructive results.
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good enough for government work — Synonym of close enough for government work.
grunt work — Work (especially that which is heavy, repetitive or mindless) that is considered undesirable and therefore delegated to underlings.
hard at work — Labouring with great effort and diligence; working hard.
have one's work cut out for one — To face a large task or project.
I just work here — Indicates that the speaker cannot answer their interrogator's question, because of lack of experience with or knowledge on the topic.
make hard work of — To do (something) in a way that makes it more difficult than it needs to be.
make light work of — To manage something without difficulty.
make quick work of — To accomplish a specified task easily and quickly.
make short work of — To do (a task) quicker or easier.
piece of work — A person who has a strong and unusual personality, especially one with seriously unpleasant character flaws.
Protestant work ethic — A strong work ethic.
put to work — to put to use
set to work — To begin working.
stroke of work — A small amount of work.
work away — Synonym of fire away.
work back — to work overtime; to make up time off by working overtime; to work beyond a specific shift.
work into the ground — To exhaust through heavy labour.
work it out on the remix — To settle a dispute; to restore a strained relationship; to reconcile.
work like a dog — To work very hard.
work like a dream — To function very efficiently and effectively, with few or no problems.
work like a horse — To work very hard; to toil.
work of art — Anything beautiful, exquisite, or finely crafted.
work one's fingers to the bone — To work especially hard, usually for an extended period.
work one's magic — To achieve something favourable and desired through the application of special skills, talents, or expertise.
work over — To physically attack in order to cause injury.
work someone's arse off — Alternative form of work someone's ass off.
work spouse — A man or woman in the workplace with whom one shares a special relationship similar to marriage, with confidences, loyalties, shared jokes and experiences, and an unusual degree of honesty or openness.
work the crowd — To work the room, or to do the equivalent with an outdoor audience.
work the room — To interact enthusiastically with the attendees at an event, by moving among them, greeting them, and engaging them in conversation.
work to rule — To work slowly by strictly following all work rules, usually in a work-to-rule job action, as part of unionized labor protest.
work with one's hands — To engage in difficult manual labor, especially using analog tools.
work wonders — To be highly successful as a solution.
worked up — Excessively emotional, excited, aroused or angry.