activity directed toward making or doing something
<noun.act> she checked several points needing further work
a product produced or accomplished through the effort or activity or agency of a person or thing
<noun.artifact> it is not regarded as one of his more memorable works the symphony was hailed as an ingenious work he was indebted to the pioneering work of John Dewey the work of an active imagination erosion is the work of wind or water over time
the occupation for which you are paid
<noun.act> he is looking for employment a lot of people are out of work
applying the mind to learning and understanding a subject (especially by reading)
<noun.cognition> mastering a second language requires a lot of work no schools offer graduate study in interior design
(physics) a manifestation of energy; the transfer of energy from one physical system to another expressed as the product of a force and the distance through which it moves a body in the direction of that force
<noun.phenomenon> work equals force times distance
a place where work is done
<noun.artifact> he arrived at work early today
the total output of a writer or artist (or a substantial part of it)
<noun.artifact> he studied the entire Wagnerian oeuvre Picasso's work can be divided into periods [ verb ]
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
<verb.social> I will work hard to improve my grades she worked hard for better living conditions for the poor
Work \Work\ (w[^u]rk), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Worked} (w[^u]rkt), or {Wrought} (r[add]t); p. pr. & vb. n. {Working}.] [AS. wyrcean (imp. worthe, wrohte, p. p. geworht, gewroht); akin to OFries. werka, wirka, OS. wirkian, D. werken, G. wirken, Icel. verka, yrkja, orka, Goth. wa['u]rkjan. [root]145. See {Work}, n.] 1. To exert one's self for a purpose; to put forth effort for the attainment of an object; to labor; to be engaged in the performance of a task, a duty, or the like.
O thou good Kent, how shall I live and work, To match thy goodness? --Shak.
Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you. --Ex. v. 18.
Whether we work or play, or sleep or wake, Our life doth pass. --Sir J. Davies.
2. Hence, in a general sense, to operate; to act; to perform; as, a machine works well.
We bend to that the working of the heart. --Shak.
3. Hence, figuratively, to be effective; to have effect or influence; to conduce.
We know that all things work together for good to them that love God. --Rom. viii. 28.
This so wrought upon the child, that afterwards he desired to be taught. --Locke.
She marveled how she could ever have been wrought upon to marry him. --Hawthorne.
4. To carry on business; to be engaged or employed customarily; to perform the part of a laborer; to labor; to toil.
They that work in fine flax . . . shall be confounded. --Isa. xix. 9.
5. To be in a state of severe exertion, or as if in such a state; to be tossed or agitated; to move heavily; to strain; to labor; as, a ship works in a heavy sea.
Confused with working sands and rolling waves. --Addison.
6. To make one's way slowly and with difficulty; to move or penetrate laboriously; to proceed with effort; -- with a following preposition, as down, out, into, up, through, and the like; as, scheme works out by degrees; to work into the earth.
Till body up to spirit work, in bounds Proportioned to each kind. --Milton.
7. To ferment, as a liquid.
The working of beer when the barm is put in. --Bacon.
8. To act or operate on the stomach and bowels, as a cathartic.
Purges . . . work best, that is, cause the blood so to do, . . . in warm weather or in a warm room. --Grew.
{To work at}, to be engaged in or upon; to be employed in.
{To work to windward} (Naut.), to sail or ply against the wind; to tack to windward. --Mar. Dict.
Work \Work\ (w[^u]rk), v. t. 1. To labor or operate upon; to give exertion and effort to; to prepare for use, or to utilize, by labor.
He could have told them of two or three gold mines, and a silver mine, and given the reason why they forbare to work them at that time. --Sir W. Raleigh.
2. To produce or form by labor; to bring forth by exertion or toil; to accomplish; to originate; to effect; as, to work wood or iron into a form desired, or into a utensil; to work cotton or wool into cloth.
Each herb he knew, that works or good or ill. --Harte.
3. To produce by slow degrees, or as if laboriously; to bring gradually into any state by action or motion. ``Sidelong he works his way.'' --Milton.
So the pure, limpid stream, when foul with stains Of rushing torrents and descending rains, Works itself clear, and as it runs, refines, Till by degrees the floating mirror shines. --Addison.
4. To influence by acting upon; to prevail upon; to manage; to lead. ``Work your royal father to his ruin.'' --Philips.
5. To form with a needle and thread or yarn; especially, to embroider; as, to work muslin.
6. To set in motion or action; to direct the action of; to keep at work; to govern; to manage; as, to work a machine.
Knowledge in building and working ships. --Arbuthnot.
Now, Marcus, thy virtue's the proof; Put forth thy utmost strength, work every nerve. --Addison.
The mariners all 'gan work the ropes, Where they were wont to do. --Coleridge.
7. To cause to ferment, as liquor.
{To work a passage} (Naut.), to pay for a passage by doing work.
{To work double tides} (Naut.), to perform the labor of three days in two; -- a phrase which alludes to a practice of working by the night tide as well as by the day.
{To work in}, to insert, introduce, mingle, or interweave by labor or skill.
{To work into}, to force, urge, or insinuate into; as, to work one's self into favor or confidence.
{To work off}, to remove gradually, as by labor, or a gradual process; as, beer works off impurities in fermenting.
{To work out}. (a) To effect by labor and exertion. ``Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.'' --Phil. ii. 12. (b) To erase; to efface. [R.]
Tears of joy for your returning spilt, Work out and expiate our former guilt. --Dryden. (c) To solve, as a problem. (d) To exhaust, as a mine, by working.
{To work up}. (a) To raise; to excite; to stir up; as, to work up the passions to rage.
The sun, that rolls his chariot o'er their heads, Works up more fire and color in their cheeks. --Addison. (b) To expend in any work, as materials; as, they have worked up all the stock. (c) (Naut.) To make over or into something else, as yarns drawn from old rigging, made into spun yarn, foxes, sennit, and the like; also, to keep constantly at work upon needless matters, as a crew in order to punish them. --R. H. Dana, Jr.
Work \Work\ (w[^u]rk), n. [OE. work, werk, weorc, AS. weorc, worc; akin to OFries. werk, wirk, OS., D., & G. werk, OHG. werc, werah, Icel. & Sw. verk, Dan. v[ae]rk, Goth. gawa['u]rki, Gr. 'e`rgon, [digamma]e`rgon, work, "re`zein to do, 'o`rganon an instrument, 'o`rgia secret rites, Zend verez to work. [root]145. Cf. {Bulwark}, {Energy}, {Erg}, {Georgic}, {Liturgy}, {Metallurgy}, {Organ}, {Orgy}, {Surgeon}, {Wright}.] 1. Exertion of strength or faculties; physical or intellectual effort directed to an end; industrial activity; toil; employment; sometimes, specifically, physical labor.
Man hath his daily work of body or mind Appointed. --Milton.
2. The matter on which one is at work; that upon which one spends labor; material for working upon; subject of exertion; the thing occupying one; business; duty; as, to take up one's work; to drop one's work.
Come on, Nerissa; I have work in hand That you yet know not of. --Shak.
In every work that he began . . . he did it with all his heart, and prospered. --2 Chron. xxxi. 21.
3. That which is produced as the result of labor; anything accomplished by exertion or toil; product; performance; fabric; manufacture; in a more general sense, act, deed, service, effect, result, achievement, feat.
To leave no rubs or blotches in the work. --Shak.
The work some praise, And some the architect. --Milton.
Fancy . . . Wild work produces oft, and most in dreams. --Milton.
The composition or dissolution of mixed bodies . . . is the chief work of elements. --Sir K. Digby.
4. Specifically: (a) That which is produced by mental labor; a composition; a book; as, a work, or the works, of Addison. (b) Flowers, figures, or the like, wrought with the needle; embroidery.
I am glad I have found this napkin; . . . I'll have the work ta'en out, And give 't Iago. --Shak. (c) pl. Structures in civil, military, or naval engineering, as docks, bridges, embankments, trenches, fortifications, and the like; also, the structures and grounds of a manufacturing establishment; as, iron works; locomotive works; gas works. (d) pl. The moving parts of a mechanism; as, the works of a watch.
5. Manner of working; management; treatment; as, unskillful work spoiled the effect. --Bp. Stillingfleet.
6. (Mech.) The causing of motion against a resisting force. The amount of work is proportioned to, and is measured by, the product of the force into the amount of motion along the direction of the force. See {Conservation of energy}, under {Conservation}, {Unit of work}, under {Unit}, also {Foot pound}, {Horse power}, {Poundal}, and {Erg}.
Energy is the capacity of doing work . . . Work is the transference of energy from one system to another. --Clerk Maxwell.
7. (Mining) Ore before it is dressed. --Raymond.
8. pl. (Script.) Performance of moral duties; righteous conduct.
He shall reward every man according to his works. --Matt. xvi. 27.
Faith, if it hath not works, is dead. --James ii. 17.
10. (Mech.) The causing of motion against a resisting force, measured by the product of the force into the component of the motion resolved along the direction of the force.
Energy is the capacity of doing work. . . . Work is the transference of energy from one system to another. --Clerk Maxwell. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
11. (Mining) Ore before it is dressed. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
{Muscular work} (Physiol.), the work done by a muscle through the power of contraction.
{To go to work}, to begin laboring; to commence operations; to contrive; to manage. ``I 'll go another way to work with him.'' --Shak.
{To set on work}, to cause to begin laboring; to set to work. [Obs.] --Hooker.
{To set to work}, to employ; to cause to engage in any business or labor.
In addition, union and management have promised to work together to resolve problems arising from layoffs, production schedule changes, major investments and day-to-day decisions once left entirely to management.
Lawmakers say the aim is to increase voter turnout and open the nation's elections to Americans unable to leave work and stand in line at City Hall or merely too forgetful to register 30 days in advance as required in some states.
"The only way we're going to resolve this drug problem is for the federal government to work with the state government and local officials.
The signing brings Dallas-based EDS to its goal of having 75% of the work it does for GM governed by long-term fixed-price agreements.
After walking from his wheelchair to a row of microphones 15 feet away, Brady, known to his friends as "Bear," pronounced himself ready for work.
One ad, no longer used by PCA, talked of $15,000 to $30,000 "with no additional work." Much of the advertising has cooled, partly in response to criticism.
"It obviously didn't work," he said.
In New York's garment district, work sometimes comes to a halt as word of yet another AIDS death spreads across Seventh Avenue.
Greece's state minister, Nikos Temelis, said after the ceremony that his country would work toward furthering cooperation between the two nations.
Wan's brother and father still work in the financial section of the company, he said.
'Obviously any charitable status of the employer or task would have a bearing on the decision,' it said. Sometimes individuals are able to incorporate unpaid work experience into government training schemes.
The prince's backstage work included making tea for co-workers.
The administration adopted new guidelines that have stricter limits on the scope and length of work that can be performed by consultants, but Cotton said they are too vague.
Cornelia Parker has produced a set of six postcards of work made in the station hotel, itself forbidden to public access.
It "is having a negative impact on the efficiency and morale of remaining employees who must take on extra work when positions become vacant." Rep. Neal Smith, D-Iowa, the subcommittee chairman, said, "You shouldn't have to put up with it.
"If you look at the composition of the work force, you have to conclude the unemployment rate can go lower now than would have been safe 10 years ago," says George Perry, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Other key issues, he says, will include details of how the single market will work, environmental, consumer and social issues and the EEC's relationship with the rest of the world.
Many of these graduates, like me, are going to have to continue to work when their children are born and when they are young.
The UAW aired radio commercials Tuesday echoing its theme that the fast work pace at Nissan has increased injuries.
Cominco Ltd., one of the world's largest producers of zinc and lead, said it is reducing zinc output 25% at its smelter in Trail, British Columbia, for 10 weeks of maintenance work.
The first two acts strike me as among his very finest work.
It explains which trusts qualify for a Pep, describes their investment objectives, and gives performance tables and details of how self-select Peps work.
'Our dedication is now to our work, not to remembering the past.' High-level corruption and financial misdemeanours appear set to keep the centre-stage in Spanish politics.
We have significantly good ensembles, quite apart from LCDT or Rambert Dance: Lloyd Newson's DV8; Phoenix Dance; Kim Brandstrup's Arc Dance (with no subsidy), Laurie Booth and Russell Maliphant, Yolande Snaith, all produce fine work.
Workers at a Stepanakert silk factory spent two hours Monday morning cleaning a thick layer of dust from their looms and have other maintenance work to do before production is back to normal, Tass reported.
Local journalists who work part-time for some of the world's large news organizations would be required to register if, as many do, they had more than one employer.
Before she went to the Transportation Department, she work for President Reagan as a White House liaison with women and minorities.
The 1986 law limits this work to people certified as qualified by the EPA, which set forth training requirements in last year's regulation.
About a third of the staff stopped work at various times Monday morning but resumed after plant officials explained how the bonus was calculated, he said.
About 80 percent of the economy involves services: banking, the Panama Canal, construction and government work.