work

1. noun

1)

a day's work in the fields

Syn:

labor, toil, slog, drudgery, exertion, effort, industry, service; informal grind, sweat, elbow grease; literary travail

See note at labor

Ant:

leisure, rest

2)

I'm looking for work

Syn:

employment, a job, a position, a situation, a post; an occupation, a profession, a career, a vocation, a calling; wage labor; tasks, jobs, duties, assignments, projects; chores

Ant:

unemployment, retirement

3)

works of literature

Syn:

composition, piece, creation; opus, oeuvre

4) (works)

the complete works of Shakespeare

Syn:

writings, oeuvre, canon, output

5)

this is the work of a radical faction

Syn:

handiwork, doing, act, deed

6) (works)

a lifetime spent doing good works

Syn:

deeds, acts, actions

7) informal (the works)

for only $60 you can get the works

Syn:

everything, the full treatment; informal the lot, the whole shebang, the full nine yards, the whole kit and kaboodle, the whole ball of wax

2. verb

1)

staff worked late into the night

Syn:

toil, labor, exert oneself, slave (away); keep at it, put one's nose to the grindstone; informal slog (away), plug away, put one's back into it, knock oneself out, sweat blood; literary travail

Ant:

rest, play

2)

he worked in education for years

Syn:

be employed, have a job, earn one's living, do business

3)

farmers worked the land

Syn:

cultivate, farm, till, plow

4)

his car was working perfectly

Syn:

function, go, run, operate; informal behave

5)

how do I work this machine?

Syn:

operate, use, handle, control, manipulate, run

6)

their ploy worked

Syn:

succeed, work out, turn out well, go as planned, get results, be effective; informal come off, pay off, do/turn the trick

Ant:

fail

7)

makeup can work miracles

Syn:

bring about, accomplish, achieve, produce, perform, create, engender, contrive, effect

8) informal

can you work it so I can get in for free?

Syn:

arrange it/things, manipulate it/things, contrive it; pull strings, fix it, swing it, wangle it

9)

he worked the crowd into a frenzy

Syn:

stir (up), excite, drive, move, rouse, fire, galvanize; whip up, agitate

10)

work the mixture into a paste

Syn:

knead, squeeze, form; mix, stir, blend

11)

he worked the blade into the padlock

Syn:

maneuver, manipulate, guide, edge

12)

her mouth worked furiously

Syn:

twitch, quiver, convulse

13)

he worked his way through the crowd

Syn:

maneuver, make, thread, wind, weave, wend

•

- work on

- work out

- work up