# worked

/ˈwɝkt/ (US) · /wˈɜːkt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/worked
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. past tense of work

verb · CEFR A1

did a job or put effort into a task in the past.

For teachers: the past tense of 'work', indicating the performance of labour or the operation of a mechanism.

- He worked at the bank for ten years before he decided to travel.
- The engineering team worked through the night to ensure the prototype was functional before the morning demonstration.

### 2. shaped or decorated

adjective · CEFR C1 · Formal

describes a material, like metal or wood, that has been shaped or decorated by hand.

For teachers: describes materials, particularly metal or stone, that have been shaped, hammered, or decorated through manual labour.

- The old gate was made of beautiful worked iron with leaf patterns.
- The museum's collection includes several examples of finely worked gold jewellery from the late Byzantine period.

### 3. solved as an example

adjective · CEFR B2 · Academic

describes a problem or math question that shows all the steps to the answer.

For teachers: describes a mathematical or technical problem presented with all intermediate steps shown for pedagogical purposes.

- The textbook has a worked example at the start of every chapter.
- The professor provided a series of worked examples to illustrate how the formula should be applied in complex thermodynamic scenarios.

## Examples

- She worked at the bank for ten years.
- He worked late every night last week to finish the report before the deadline.
- The team worked tirelessly throughout the weekend, eventually resolving the technical issues that had plagued the launch for months.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.