See Also: work 1, verb(dictionary)
Work(medicine)
work of art(dictionary)
by-work(dictionary)
out of work(dictionary)
work(2)(dictionary)
work(1)(dictionary)
right-to-work law(encyclopedia)
Right To Work Law(law)
tut-work(medicine)

work 1, verb (oh)



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1 ?do a job for money?
2 ?do your job?
3 ?help?
4 ?do an activity?
5 ?try to achieve something?
6 ?machine/equipment?
7 ?be effective/successful?
8 ?have an effect?
9 ?art/style/literature?
10 ?shape/cut something?
11 ?use a substance?
12 work your way to/through etc something
13 work your way through school/college/university etc
14 ?move gradually?
15 ?exercise?
16 ?move?
17 ?work in an area?
18 work the door
19 ?entertain a crowd?
20 ?land/soil?
21 ?mine?
22 work like magic/work like a charm
23 ?mind/brain?
24 work on the principle/assumption/basis etc that
25 work yourself into a frenzy/panic/state etc
26 work it/things
27 work the system
28 work somebody hard
29 work your fingers to the bone
30 work your butt/ass/arse off
31 ?calculate?
32 work to rule
Phrasal verbs
work around somebody/something
work around to something
work at something
work somebody/something in
work something ¡û¡ú off
work on somebody/something
work out
work somebody over
work through
work up
work up to something
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[Language: Old English; Origin: wyrcan]
?DO A JOB FOR MONEY?
[I] to do a job that you are paid for
::Where do you work?
::Many young people in the area have never worked.
::The injury means he'll probably never work again.
work for
::He works for a law firm.
work at/in
::I work at the university.
work as
::She works as a consultant for a design company.
work in industry/education/publishing etc
::The studies were undertaken by people working in education.
work part-time/full-time
::I work part-time in a library.
?DO YOUR JOB?
[I and T] to do the activities and duties that are part of your job
::Sally isn't working tomorrow.
::Staff will have to get used to a new way of working.
work with
::One of the women I work with is getting married this weekend.
work under sb
(=have someone who is in charge of you)
::Each site has a fully trained team who work under a site manager.
work days/nights/weekends etc
::I get paid more if I work nights.
::We're sometimes expected to work twelve-hour days.
::Are you working late (=working after the time you usually finish) again tonight?
::Forty police officers are working round the clock (=working day and night without stopping) to find Murray's killer.
::Nowadays, many people are able to work from home .
?HELP?
[I] if you work with someone or a group of people, your job involves trying to help them
work with/among
::She's just retired after 38 years working with children.
::He has worked among some of the world's poorest people.
?DO AN ACTIVITY?
[I] to spend time and effort doing something
::I've been working in the garden all afternoon.
::I'm going to have to work really hard to pass these exams.
::We're working together to develop a new system.
?TRY TO ACHIEVE SOMETHING?
[I] to try continuously to achieve a particular thing
work towards
::They are working towards a solution to their problems.
work for
::We will work for the release of the hostages.
work to do sth
::The police are working to provide more help for victims of crime.
::The company is working hard to improve its image.
::He worked tirelessly (=worked very hard in a determined way) for the charity throughout his life.
?MACHINE/EQUIPMENT?
a) [I] if a machine or piece of equipment works, it does what it is supposed to do
::You should check that the smoke alarm is working properly.
::The delete key doesn't work.
get sth to work
::I can't get the heater to work.
b) [T] to make a machine or piece of equipment do what it is supposed to do
::My parents can't even work the video.
?BE EFFECTIVE/SUCCESSFUL?
[I] to be effective or successful
::Making a marriage work can take a lot of effort.
::I've never found a diet that works.
::The recipe works just as well if you use margarine instead of butter.
::The cream works immediately to relieve sore skin.
work for
::You need to find which method works best for you.
work against
::a drug that works against some types of cancer
?HAVE AN EFFECT?
[I always + adverb/preposition] if something such as a fact, situation, or system works in a particular way, it has a particular effect on someone or something
::The arrangement works well for everyone involved.
::The French team are the heavier crew, which should work in their favour (=help them) .
::Sexism still works against (=harms or causes problems for) women in many professions.
?ART/STYLE/LITERATURE?
[I] if a painting, design, piece of writing etc works, it is successful because it has the effect on you that the painter, writer etc intended
::I don't think the scene with the horses really works, do you?
work for
::The colour combination just doesn't work for me.
?SHAPE/CUT SOMETHING?
[T] if you work a material such as metal, leather, or clay, you cut, sew, or shape it in order to make something
?USE A SUBSTANCE?
[I] to use a particular material or substance in order to make something such as a picture, design, jewellery etc
work in/with
::a sculptor who works in steel
::a jeweller who works with silver
work your way to/through etc sth
a) to move somewhere slowly and with difficulty
::From here, we worked our way carefully across the rock base.
b) to achieve something gradually by working
::He had worked his way up to head of department.
work your way through school/college/university etc
to do a job while you are a student because you need the money to pay for your courses, books etc
?MOVE GRADUALLY?
[I,T always + adverb/preposition] to move into a particular state or position very gradually, either in a series of small movements or after a long time
::Slowly he worked the screwdriver into the crack.
work (its way) loose
::One of the screws must have worked loose.
?EXERCISE?
[T] to use and exercise a muscle or part of your body
::Swimming is a form of exercise that works every muscle in your body.
?MOVE?
[I and T] formal if a part of your body works or you work it, it moves
::She was trembling and her mouth was working.
?WORK IN AN AREA?
[T] if you work a particular area or type of place, you travel around the area for your job, or work in that type of place
::Markowitz works the Tri-State area.
work the door
to take tickets from people as they enter a club, theatre etc
::Binns worked the door at various Manhattan clubs.
?ENTERTAIN A CROWD?
[T] if an entertainer or politician works a crowd of people, they entertain them and get their interest or support
::She really knew how to work a crowd.
?LAND/SOIL?
[T] if you work the land, soil etc, you do all the work necessary to grow crops on it
::He was left to work the farm alone.
?MINE?
[T] to remove a substance such as coal, gold, or oil from under the ground
work like magic/work like a charm
also work a treat BrE to be very effective
::a polish that works a treat on windows
?MIND/BRAIN?
[I] if your mind or brain is working, you are thinking or trying to solve a problem
work on the principle/assumption/basis etc that
to base ideas, plans etc on a particular fact that you think is true
::We're working on the assumption that the conference will take place in Canada, as planned.
work yourself into a frenzy/panic/state etc
to make yourself become very nervous, angry etc
::He seemed to be working himself into a rage.
work it/things
spoken to make arrangements for something to happen, especially by behaving in a clever or skilful way
::We should try and work it so that we can all go together.
work the system
to understand how a system works so that you can get advantages for yourself, often in a slightly dishonest way
::Lynn could show the rest of us how to work the system.
work sb hard
also work sb into the ground informal
to make someone work very hard
::The coach has been working us really hard this week.
::People have complained that they are being worked into the ground.
work yourself into the ground
::I've worked myself into the ground setting up this interview.
work your fingers to the bone
also work your socks off
informal to work very hard
work your butt/ass/arse off
not polite to work very hard
?CALCULATE?
[T] AmE formal to calculate the answer to a mathematical problem
work to rule
BrE to protest about a situation at work by doing your job slowly, with the excuse that you must obey all the rules exactly
-see also work wonders at wonder 2 (4), work miracles at miracle (4), work your magic at magic 1 (5)
work around / [work around sb/sth] phr v
to arrange or organize something so that you avoid problems that may stop you from doing something
::John won't be here on the 15th so we'll have to work round that.
work around to [work around to sth] phr v
to gradually mention a subject in a conversation or piece of writing, especially because it is embarrassing
::You'll have to work round to the subject gradually.
work at [work at sth] phr v
to try hard to improve something or achieve something
::Learning a language isn't easy. You have to work at it.
work at doing sth
::couples who want to work at improving their relationship
work in [work sb/sth in] phr v
work sth ¡û¡ú in
also work sth into sth
to include something in a speech, piece of writing, activity etc
::He managed to work in a few references to his new book.
::Here are a few goodies you can work into your daily diet.
work sth ¡û¡ú in
also work sth into sth
to add one substance to another and mix them together in a very thorough way
::Work the butter into the flour.
AmE spoken to arrange to meet someone, even though you are very busy
British Equivalent: fit somebody in
::My schedule's pretty full, but I think I can work you in.
work off [work sth ¡û¡ú off] phr v
to get rid of something, especially a feeling such as anger, nervousness etc, by doing something that uses a lot of your energy
::Walking is excellent for working off tension.
::I need to go and work off a few of these calories.
to do a job for someone else because you owe them money or because they have helped you in the past
::She hasn't worked off her debts to me yet.
work on / [work on sb/sth] phr v
to spend time working in order to produce or repair something
::He has spent the last two years working on a book about childcare.
::Every weekend you see him working on his car.
to try very hard to improve or achieve something
::A trainer has been brought in to work on her fitness.
work on doing sth
::We need to work on ensuring that the children feel safe and confident.
to try continuously to influence someone or persuade them to do something
::You leave him to me. I'll work on him.
work out phr v
?PLAN?
work sth ¡û¡ú out
to think carefully about how you are going to do something and plan a good way of doing it
::UN negotiators have worked out a set of compromise proposals.
work out what/where/how etc
::We need to work out how we're going to get there.
::I had it all worked out (=had made very careful plans) .
?CALCULATE?
work sth ¡û¡ú out
to calculate an answer, amount, price etc
::See if you can work this bill out.
work out how much/how many etc
::We'll have to work out how much food we'll need for the party.
?UNDERSTAND?
work sth ¡û¡ú out
especially BrE to think about something and manage to understand it
::The plot is very complicated - it'll take you a while to work it out.
work sth out for yourself
::I'm sure you can work it out for yourself.
?COST?
if a cost or amount works out at a particular figure, it is found to be that much when you calculate it
work out at/to ¡ê10/$500 etc
::The bill works out at ¡ê15 each.
work out expensive/cheap etc
(=be expensive or cheap)
::If we go by taxi, it's going to work out very expensive.
?GET BETTER?
if a problem or complicated situation works out, it gradually gets better or gets solved
::Things will work out, you'll see.
::I hope it all works out for Gina and Andy.
work itself out
::I'm sure everything will work itself out.
?HAPPEN?
if a situation works out in a particular way, it happens in that way
-synonym turn out turn out
work out well/badly
::Financially, things have worked out well for us.
?EXERCISE?
to make your body fit and strong by doing exercises
::He works out with weights twice a week.
-see also workout
I can't work sb out
BrE spoken used to say that you cannot understand what someone is really like or why they behave in the way they do
::I couldn't work her out at all.
be worked out
if a mine is worked out, all the coal, gold etc has been removed from it
work over [work sb over] phr v
to attack someone by hitting them several times
work through phr v
work sth ¡û¡ú through
to deal with problems or unpleasant feelings
::After someone dies, it can take a long time to work though your grief.
if the result or effect of something works through, it becomes noticeable
::The positive effect on businesses may take up to three years to work through.
work up [work up] phr v
work up enthusiasm/interest/courage etc
to make yourself feel interested, brave etc
::I'm trying to work up enough courage to go to the dentist.
work up an appetite/a thirst/a sweat
to make yourself hungry or thirsty, or make yourself sweat, especially by doing physical exercise
::You can work up a really big thirst playing tennis.
work sb up
to make someone very angry, excited, or upset about something
work yourself up
::You're working yourself up again.
::She had worked herself up into a state .
-see also worked up
work sth ¡û¡ú up
to develop and improve something such as a project or a piece of writing
::Jack took notes which he would work up into a report later.
work up to [work up to sth] phr v
to gradually prepare yourself to do something difficult
work up to doing sth
::He'd been working up to asking her for a date all week.