works
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work
(wûrk)n.
1.
a. Physical or mental effort or activity directed toward the production or accomplishment of something: Cleaning the basement was a lot of work.
b. Such effort or activity by which one makes a living; employment: looking for work.
c. A trade, profession, or other means of livelihood: His work is fixing cars.
2.
a. The part of a day devoted to an occupation or undertaking: met her after work.
b. One's place of employment: Should I call you at home or at work?
3.
a. Something that one is doing, making, or performing, especially as an occupation or undertaking; a duty or task: begin the day's work.
b. An amount of such activity either done or required: a week's work.
c. The action or effect of an agency: The antibiotic seems to be doing its work.
4.
a. Something that has been produced or accomplished through the effort, activity, or agency of a person or thing: This scheme was the work of a criminal mastermind. Erosion is the work of wind, water, and time.
b. An act; a deed: "I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity" (Ecclesiastes 1:14).
c. An artistic creation, such as a painting, sculpture, or literary or musical composition, or a creative result of other human activity: an early work of Matisse; a scholarly work of great importance.
d. works The output of a writer, artist, or composer considered or collected as a whole: the works of Bach.
5.
a. works Engineering structures, such as bridges or dams.
b. A fortified structure, such as a trench or fortress.
6.
a. Needlework, weaving, lacemaking, or a similar textile art.
b. A piece of such textile art.
7. A material or piece of material being processed in a machine during manufacture: work to be turned in the lathe.
8. works(used with a sing. or pl. verb) A factory, plant, or similar building or complex of buildings where a specific type of business or industry is carried on. Often used in combination: a steelworks.
9. works Internal mechanism: the works of a watch.
10. The manner, style, or quality of working or treatment; workmanship.
11. Abbr. w Physics The transfer of energy from one physical system to another, especially the application of a force to move a body in a certain direction. It is calculated as the product of the force and the distance over which it is applied and is expressed in joules, ergs, and foot-pounds.
12. works Moral or righteous acts or deeds: salvation by faith rather than works.
13. works
a. Informal The full range of possibilities; everything. Used with the: ordered a pizza with the works.
b. Slang A thorough beating or other severe treatment. Used with the: took him outside and gave him the works.
adj.
Of, relating to, designed for, or engaged in work.
v. worked also wrought (rôt), work·ing, works
v.intr.
1. To exert oneself physically or mentally in order to do, make, or accomplish something.
2. To be employed; have a job.
3.
a. To function; operate: How does this latch work?
b. To function or operate in the desired or required way: The telephone hasn't worked since the thunderstorm.
4.
a. To have a given effect or outcome: Our friendship works best when we speak our minds.
b. To have the desired effect or outcome; prove successful: This recipe seems to work.
5. To exert an influence. Used with on or upon: worked on her to join the group.
6. To arrive at a specified condition through gradual or repeated movement: The stitches worked loose.
7. To proceed or progress slowly and laboriously: worked through the underbrush; worked through my problems in therapy.
8. To move in an agitated manner, as with emotion: Her mouth worked with fear.
9. To behave in a specified way when handled or processed: Not all metals work easily.
10. To ferment.
11. Nautical
a. To strain in heavy seas so that the joints give slightly and the fastenings become slack. Used of a boat or ship.
b. To sail against the wind.
12. To undergo small motions that result in friction and wear: The gears work against each other.
v.tr.
Phrasal Verbs: 1. To cause or effect; bring about: working miracles.
2. To cause to operate or function; actuate, use, or manage: worked the controls; can work a lathe.
3. To shape or forge: "Each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor" (Edgar Allan Poe).
4. To make or decorate by needlework: work a sampler.
5. To solve (a problem) by calculation and reasoning.
6. To knead, stir, or otherwise manipulate in preparation: Work the dough before shaping it.
7. To bring to a specified condition by gradual or repeated effort or work: finally worked the window open; worked the slaves to death.
8. To make, achieve, or pay for by work or effort: worked her way to the top; worked his passage on the ship.
9. Informal To arrange or contrive. Often used with it: worked it so that her weekends are free.
10. To make productive; cultivate: work a farm.
11. To cause to work: works his laborers hard.
12. To excite or provoke: worked the mob into a frenzy.
13. Informal
a. To gratify, cajole, or enchant artfully, especially for the purpose of influencing: The politician worked the crowd. The comedian worked the room with flawless rhythm.
b. To use or manipulate to one's own advantage; exploit: learned how to work the system; worked his relatives for sympathy.
14. To carry on an operation or function in or through: the agent who works that area; working the phones for donations.
15. To ferment (liquor, for example).
work in
1. To insert or introduce: worked in a request for money.
2. To make an opening for, as in a schedule: said the doctor would try to work her in.
3. To cause to be inserted by repeated or continuous effort.
work into
1. To insert or introduce into: worked some childhood memories into his novel.
2. To make an opening for (someone or something) in: worked a few field trips into the semester's calendar.
3. To place or insert in by repeated or continuous effort: worked the pick into the lock.
work off
To get rid of by work or effort: work off extra pounds; work off a debt.
work out
1. To accomplish by work or effort: worked out a compromise.
2. To find a solution for; solve: worked out the equations; worked out their personal differences.
3. To formulate or develop: work out a plan.
4. To discharge (an obligation or debt) with labor in place of money.
5. To prove successful, effective, or satisfactory: The new strategy may not work out.
6. To have a specified result: The ratio works out to an odd number. It worked out that everyone left on the same train.
7. To engage in strenuous exercise for physical conditioning.
8. To exhaust (a mine, for example).
work over
1. To do for a second time; rework.
2. Slang To inflict severe physical damage on; beat up.
work up
Idioms: 1. To arouse the emotions of; excite.
2.
a. To increase one's skill, responsibility, efficiency, or status through work: worked up to 30 sit-ups a day; worked up to store manager.
b. To intensify gradually: The film works up to a thrilling climax.
3. To develop or produce by mental or physical effort: worked up a patient profile; worked up an appetite.
at work
1. Engaged in labor; working: at work on a new project.
2. In operation: inflationary forces at work in the economy.
in the works
In preparation; under development: has a novel in the works.
out of work
Without a job; unemployed.
put in work
To perform labor or duties, as on a specified project: put in work on the plastering.
work both sides of the street
To engage in double-dealing; be duplicitous.
work like a charm
To function very well or have a very good effect or outcome.
work (one's) fingers to the bone
To labor extremely hard; toil or travail.
Synonyms: work, labor, toil1, drudgery, travail
These nouns refer to physical or mental effort expended to produce or accomplish something. Work is the most widely applicable: hard work in the fields; did some work around the house on weekends; a first draft that still needs work.
Labor usually implies human work, especially of a hard physical or intellectual nature: a construction job that involves heavy labor."All scholarly work builds on the cumulative labors of others" (Jerome Karabel).
Toil applies principally to strenuous, fatiguing labor: "a spirited woman of intellect condemned to farmhouse toil" (Cynthia Ozick).
Drudgery suggests dull, wearisome, or monotonous work: "the drudgery of penning definitions and marking quotations for transcription" (Thomas Macaulay).
Travail connotes arduous work involving pain or suffering: "prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth" (Henry Beston).
These nouns refer to physical or mental effort expended to produce or accomplish something. Work is the most widely applicable: hard work in the fields; did some work around the house on weekends; a first draft that still needs work.
Labor usually implies human work, especially of a hard physical or intellectual nature: a construction job that involves heavy labor."All scholarly work builds on the cumulative labors of others" (Jerome Karabel).
Toil applies principally to strenuous, fatiguing labor: "a spirited woman of intellect condemned to farmhouse toil" (Cynthia Ozick).
Drudgery suggests dull, wearisome, or monotonous work: "the drudgery of penning definitions and marking quotations for transcription" (Thomas Macaulay).
Travail connotes arduous work involving pain or suffering: "prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth" (Henry Beston).
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
works
(wɜːks)pl n
1. (Industrial Relations & HR Terms) (often functioning as singular) a place where a number of people are employed, such as a factory
2. (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) the sum total of a writer's or artist's achievements, esp when considered together: the works of Shakespeare.
3. (Art Terms) the sum total of a writer's or artist's achievements, esp when considered together: the works of Shakespeare.
4. (Theology) the deeds of a person, esp virtuous or moral deeds performed as religious acts: works of charity.
5. (Mechanical Engineering) the interior parts of the mechanism of a machine, etc: the works of a clock.
6. in the works informal in preparation
7. spanner in the works See spanner2
8. the works slang
a. full or extreme treatment
b. a very violent physical beating: to give someone the works.
9. (Medicine) slang a syringe
10. (Motor Racing) (modifier) of or denoting a racing car, etc, that is officially entered by a manufacturer in an event: a works entry.
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
factory
– works – mill – plant1. 'factory'
A building where machines are used to make things is usually called a factory.
I work in a cheese factory.
He visited several factories which produce domestic electrical goods.
2. 'works'
A place where things are made or where an industrial process takes place can also be called a works. A works can consist of several buildings and may include outdoor equipment and machinery.
There used to be an iron works here.
After works you can use either a singular or plural form of a verb.
The sewage works was closed down.
Engineering works are planned for this district.
3. 'mill'
A building where a particular material is made is often called a mill.
He worked at a cotton mill.
4. 'plant'
A building where chemicals are produced is called a chemical plant.
There was an explosion at a chemical plant.
A power station can also be referred to as a plant.
They discussed the re-opening of the nuclear plant.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  works - buildings for carrying on industrial labor; "they built a large plant to manufacture automobiles"bottling plant - a plant where beverages are put into bottles with caps brewery - a plant where beer is brewed by fermentation building complex, complex - a whole structure (as a building) made up of interconnected or related structures distillery, still - a plant and works where alcoholic drinks are made by distillation factory, manufactory, manufacturing plant, mill - a plant consisting of one or more buildings with facilities for manufacturing gas system - facility (plant and equipment) for providing natural-gas service mint - a plant where money is coined by authority of the government packing plant, packinghouse - a plant where livestock are slaughtered and processed and packed as meat products recycling plant - a plant for reprocessing used or abandoned materials refinery - an industrial plant for purifying a crude substance saltworks - a plant where salt is produced commercially disposal plant, sewage disposal plant - a plant for disposing of sewage |
| 2. | works - everything available; usually preceded by `the'; "we saw the whole shebang"; "a hotdog with the works"; "we took on the whole caboodle"; "for $10 you get the full treatment" full treatment, kit and boodle, kit and caboodle, whole caboodle, whole kit, whole kit and boodle, whole kit and caboodle, whole shebang, whole works entireness, entirety, integrality, totality - the state of being total and complete; "he read the article in its entirety"; "appalled by the totality of the destruction" | |
| 3. | works - performance of moral or religious acts; "salvation by deeds"; "the reward for good works" activity - any specific behavior; "they avoided all recreational activity" plural, plural form - the form of a word that is used to denote more than one | |
| 4. | works - the internal mechanism of a device mechanism - device consisting of a piece of machinery; has moving parts that perform some function plural, plural form - the form of a word that is used to denote more than one |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
works
nounThe American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
أعْمالجِهاز التَّشْغيلمَصْنَع، مُنْشَآت
gode gerningermekanismeværk
cselekedetekművek
gangverkgóîverkverksmiîja
skutky
works
[wɜːks]Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
works
[wɜːks] n (Brit)a. npl (of machine, clock) → meccanismo (Admin) → opere fpl (Mil) → opere, fortificazioni fpl
road works → lavori stradali
to give sb the works (fam) (treat harshly) → dare una strigliata a qn
road works → lavori stradali
to give sb the works (fam) (treat harshly) → dare una strigliata a qn
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
work
(wəːk) noun1. effort made in order to achieve or make something. He has done a lot of work on this project
2. employment. I cannot find work in this town.
3. a task or tasks; the thing that one is working on. Please clear your work off the table.
4. a painting, book, piece of music etc. the works of Van Gogh / Shakespeare/Mozart; This work was composed in 1816.
5. the product or result of a person's labours. His work has shown a great improvement lately.
6. one's place of employment. He left (his) work at 5.30 p.m.; I don't think I'll go to work tomorrow.
verb1. to (cause to) make efforts in order to achieve or make something. She works at the factory three days a week; He works his employees very hard; I've been working on/at a new project.
2. to be employed. Are you working just now?
3. to (cause to) operate (in the correct way). He has no idea how that machine works / how to work that machine; That machine doesn't/won't work, but this one's working.
4. to be practicable and/or successful. If my scheme works, we'll be rich!
5. to make (one's way) slowly and carefully with effort or difficulty. She worked her way up the rock face.
6. to get into, or put into, a stated condition or position, slowly and gradually. The wheel worked loose.
7. to make by craftsmanship. The ornaments had been worked in gold.
-work1. (the art of making) goods of a particular material. He learns woodwork at school; This shop sells basketwork.
2. parts of something, eg a building, made of a particular material. The stonework/woodwork/paintwork needs to be renewed.
ˈworkable adjective (of a plan) able to be carried out.
ˈworker noun1. a person who works or who is employed in an office, a factory etc. office-workers; car-workers.
2. a manual worker rather than an office-worker etc.
3. a person who works (hard etc). He's a slow/hard worker.
works noun singular or plural a factory etc. The steelworks is/are closed for the holidays.
noun plural1. the mechanism (of a watch, clock etc). The works are all rusted.
2. deeds, actions etc. She's devoted her life to good works.
ˈwork-basket, ˈwork-boxetc nouns a basket, box etc for holding thread, needlework etc.
ˈworkbook noun a book of exercises usually with spaces for answers.
ˈworkforce noun the number of workers (available for work) in a particular industry, factory etc.
working class the section of society who work with their hands, doing manual labour.
working day, ˈwork-day nouns1. a day on which one goes to work, and is not on holiday.
2. the period of actual labour in a normal day at work. My working day is eight hours long.
working hours the times of day between which one is at work. Normal working hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
ˈworking-party, ˈwork-party nouns a group of people gathered together (usually voluntarily) to perform a particular physical task. They organized a work-party to clear the canal of weeds.
working week the five days from Monday to Friday inclusive when people go to work.
ˈworkman noun a man who does manual work. the workmen on a building site.
ˈworkmanlike adjective1. suitable to a good workman. a workmanlike attitude.
2. well performed. a workmanlike job.
ˈworkmanship noun the skill of a qualified workman; skill in making things.
ˈworkmate noun one of the people who work in the same place of employment as oneself. Her workmates teased her about being the boss's favourite.
ˈworkout noun a period of hard physical exercise for the purpose of keeping fit etc.
ˈworkshop noun1. a room or building, especially in a factory etc where construction and repairs are carried out.
2. a course of experimental work for a group of people on a particular project.
at work working. He's writing a novel and he likes to be at work (on it) by eight o'clock every morning.
get/set to work to start work. Could you get to work painting that ceiling?; I'll have to set to work on this mending this evening.
go to work on to begin work on. We're thinking of going to work on an extension to the house.
have one's work cut out to be faced with a difficult task. You'll have your work cut out to beat the champion.
in working order (of a machine etc) operating correctly.
out of work having no employment. He's been out of work for months.
work of art a painting, sculpture etc.
work off to get rid of (something unwanted or unpleasant) by taking physical exercise etc. He worked off his anger by running round the garden six times.
work out1. to solve or calculate correctly. I can't work out how many should be left.
2. to come to a satisfactory end. Don't worry – it will all work out (in the end).
3. to perform physical exercises.
work up1. to excite or rouse gradually. She worked herself up into a fury. (adjective ˌworked-ˈup: Don't get so worked-up!).
2. to raise or create. I just can't work up any energy/appetite/enthusiasm today.
work up to to progress towards and prepare for. Work up to the difficult exercises gradually.
work wonders to produce marvellous results. These pills have worked wonders on my rheumatism.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.