work

work
I. noun Etymology: Middle English werk, work, from Old English werc, weorc; akin to Old High German werc work, Greek ergon, Avestan varəzem activity Date: before 12th century 1. activity in which one exerts strength or faculties to do or perform something: a. sustained physical or mental effort to overcome obstacles and achieve an objective or result b. the labor, task, or duty that is one's accustomed means of livelihood c. a specific task, duty, function, or assignment often being a part or phase of some larger activity 2. a. energy expended by natural phenomena b. the result of such energy <
sand dunes are the work of sea and wind
>
c. the transference of energy that is produced by the motion of the point of application of a force and is measured by multiplying the force and the displacement of its point of application in the line of action 3. a. something that results from a particular manner or method of working, operating, or devising <
careful police work
>
<
clever camera work
>
b. something that results from the use or fashioning of a particular material <
porcelain work
>
4. a. a fortified structure (as a fort, earthen barricade, or trench) b. plural structures in engineering (as docks, bridges, or embankments) or mining (as shafts or tunnels) 5. plural but singular or plural in construction a place where industrial labor is carried on ; plant, factory 6. plural the working or moving parts of a mechanism <
the works of a clock
>
7. a. something produced or accomplished by effort, exertion, or exercise of skill <
this book is the work of many hands
>
b. something produced by the exercise of creative talent or expenditure of creative effort ; artistic production <
an early work by a major writer
>
8. plural performance of moral or religious acts <
salvation by works
>
9. a. effective operation ; effect, result <
wait for time to do its healing work
>
b. manner of working ; workmanship, execution 10. the material or piece of material that is operated upon at any stage in the process of manufacture 11. plural a. everything possessed, available, or belonging <
the whole works, rod, reel, tackle box, went overboard
>
<
ordered pizza with the works
>
b. subjection to drastic treatment ; all possible abuse — usually used with get <
get the works
>
or give <
gave them the works
>
Synonyms: work, labor, travail, toil, drudgery, grind mean activity involving effort or exertion. work may imply activity of body, of mind, of a machine, or of a natural force <
too tired to do any work
>
. labor applies to physical or intellectual work involving great and often strenuous exertion <
farmers demanding fair compensation for their labor
>
. travail is bookish for labor involving pain or suffering <
years of travail were lost when the house burned
>
. toil implies prolonged and fatiguing labor <
his lot would be years of back-breaking toil
>
. drudgery suggests dull and irksome labor <
an editorial job with a good deal of drudgery
>
. grind implies labor exhausting to mind or body <
the grind of the assembly line
>
. Synonyms: work, employment, occupation, calling, pursuit, métier, business mean a specific sustained activity engaged in especially in earning one's living. work may apply to any purposeful activity whether remunerative or not <
her work as a hospital volunteer
>
. employment implies work for which one has been engaged and is being paid by an employer <
your employment with this firm is hereby terminated
>
. occupation implies work in which one engages regularly especially as a result of training <
his occupation as a trained auto mechanic
>
. calling applies to an occupation viewed as a vocation or profession <
the ministry seemed my true calling
>
. pursuit suggests a trade, profession, or avocation followed with zeal or steady interest <
her family considered medicine the only proper pursuit
>
. métier implies a calling or pursuit for which one believes oneself to be especially fitted <
acting was my one and only métier
>
. business suggests activity in commerce or the management of money and affairs <
the business of managing a hotel
>
. II. adjective Date: 14th century 1. used for work <
a work elephant
>
2. suitable or styled for wear while working <
work clothes
>
3. involving or engaged in work <
a work gang
>
<
work hours
>
III. verb (worked or wrought; working) Etymology: Middle English werken, worken, from Old English wyrcan; akin to Old English weorc Date: before 12th century transitive verb 1. to bring to pass ; effect <
work miracles
>
2. a. to fashion or create a useful or desired product by expending labor or exertion on ; forge, shape <
work flint into tools
>
b. to make or decorate with needlework; especially embroider 3. a. to prepare for use by stirring or kneading b. to bring into a desired form by a gradual process of cutting, hammering, scraping, pressing, or stretching <
work cold steel
>
4. to set or keep in motion, operation, or activity ; cause to operate or produce <
a pump worked by hand
>
<
work farmland
>
5. to solve (a problem) by reasoning or calculation — often used with out 6. a. to cause to toil or labor <
worked their horses nearly to death
>
b. to make use of ; exploit c. to control or guide the operation of <
switches are worked from a central tower
>
7. a. to carry on an operation or perform a job through, at, in, or along <
the salespeople worked both sides of the street
>
<
a sportscaster hired to work the game
>
b. to greet and talk with in a friendly way in order to ingratiate oneself or achieve a purpose <
politicians working the crowd
>
<
worked the room
>
8. to pay for or achieve with labor or service <
worked my way through college
>
<
worked my way up in the company
>
9. a. to get (oneself or an object) into or out of a condition or position by gradual stages b. contrive, arrange <
we can work it so that you can take your vacation
>
10. a. to practice trickery or cajolery on for some end <
worked the management for a free ticket
>
b. excite, provoke <
worked myself into a rage
>
intransitive verb 1. a. to exert oneself physically or mentally especially in sustained effort for a purpose or under compulsion or necessity b. to perform or carry through a task requiring sustained effort or continuous repeated operations <
worked all day over a hot stove
>
c. to perform work or fulfill duties regularly for wages or salary <
works in publishing
>
2. to function or operate according to plan or design <
hinges work better with oil
>
3. to exert an influence or tendency 4. to produce a desired effect or result ; succeed <
a plan that will work
>
5. a. to make way slowly and with difficulty ; move or progress laboriously <
worked up to the presidency
>
b. to sail to windward 6. to permit of being worked ; react in a specified way to being worked <
this wood works easily
>
7. a. to be in agitation or restless motion b. ferment 1 c. to move slightly in relation to another part d. to get into a specified condition by slow or imperceptible movements <
the knot worked loose
>

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • work — [wʉrk] n. [ME werk < OE weorc, akin to Ger werk < IE base * werĝ , to do, act > Gr ergon (for * wergon), action, work, organon, tool, instrument] 1. physical or mental effort exerted to do or make something; purposeful activity; labor;… …   English World dictionary

  • 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,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Work — may refer to: Human labor: Employment House work Labor (economics), measure of the work done by human beings Manual labor, physical work done by people Wage labor, in which a worker sells their labor and an employer buys it Work (project… …   Wikipedia

  • work — n 1 Work, labor, travail, toil, drudgery, grind are comparable when they mean effort or exertion directed to the accomplishment of an end, or an employment or activity which involves such expenditure of effort or exertion. Work is the most… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • 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. [1913 Webster] He could have told them of two or three gold mines, and a silver mine, and given the reason why they forbare …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • work — ► NOUN 1) activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a result. 2) such activity as a means of earning income. 3) a task or tasks to be undertaken. 4) a thing or things done or made; the result of an action. 5) (works)… …   English terms dictionary

  • 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,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • work — [n1] labor, chore assignment, attempt, commission, daily grind*, drudge, drudgery, effort, elbow grease*, endeavor, exertion, functioning, grind, grindstone*, industry, job, moil, muscle, obligation, pains*, performance, production, push, salt… …   New thesaurus

  • Work — Título Charlot, empapelador o Carlitos empapelador o Charlot trabaja Ficha técnica Dirección Charles Chaplin …   Wikipedia Español

  • Work It — «Work It» Sencillo de Nelly y Justin Timberlake del álbum Nellyville Formato Disco compacto Género(s) Rap Duración 4:22 …   Wikipedia Español

  • work it — informal phrase to arrange for something to happen I’ll try and work it so we can leave early today. Thesaurus: to make plans or arrangementssynonym Main entry: work * * * ˈwork it/things …   Useful english dictionary

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