work
verb
uk/wɜːk/ us [ I or T ] HR, WORKPLACE
to do a job, especially to earn money:
Do you work?
He works as a computer technician.
My brother works for a large American corporation.
How many people work at your company?
work full-time/part-time/from home
work an eight-hour day/hard/long hours
work in a bank/factory/an office
[ I ]
to spend time and effort doing something:
We were working on the presentation all night.
The two countries worked together on developing the technology.
Multinationals will have to work with governments to achieve the best balance between openness and security.
[ I ]
to try hard to achieve or improve something:
work at/on sth You need to work on your communication skills.
I'm not very confident on the phone, but I'm prepared to work at it.
be working towards sth Our firm is working towards being a paperless environment.
[ I ]
to be effective or successful:
The plan seemed to work well.
The current system isn't working, so we'll need to look at an alternative.
[ I ] WORKPLACE, IT
if a machine or piece of equipment works, it operates as expected:
My computer isn't working.
I can't get this printer to work.
[ T ] WORKPLACE, IT informal
to operate a machine or piece of equipment:
He doesn't even know how to work a photocopier.
[ T ] COMMERCE
to go around a particular area that you are responsible for, especially in a sales job:
His sales were better when he was working the London area.
[ I ]
to have a good or bad effect:
The terms they're offering don't work for us.
His poor command of English worked against him in the interview.
Her previous sales experience worked in her favour.
[ T ]
to change the shape of a material to make something else with it:
work leather/metal
work a mine
NATURAL RESOURCES
to dig for coal, minerals, etc.:
These men have been working the mines all their lives.
work sb hard
to make someone use a lot of effort:
He works his trainees really hard.
work it so (that) informal
to arrange for something to happen in a way that is useful for you:
I'm going to try and work it so I can spend the weekend in New York after the conference.
work the land formal
to prepare the soil to grow crops on it:
We're here to thank those who work the land to feed us.
work the system
to know how to deal with a system or organization to get the result you want:
People who know how to work the system can significantly reduce their tax bill.
work things out
to deal with a situation successfully, especially when there is a problem:
I'll try to work things out with our suppliers.
work your way up sth (also work your way up to sth)
to do a series of jobs at different levels in an organization until you reach a position at the top of the organization:
She joined the company as a sales rep but worked her way up to managing director.
work your way up the ladder/hierarchy/ranks I'd like to stay here and work my way up the audit career ladder.
Phrasal verbs
work out
work sth out
work sth up
work
noun [ U ]
uk/wɜːk/ us HR
the job that someone does, usually to earn money:
full-time/part-time work Many pensioners will have to consider part-time work to supplement their retirement plans.
find/get/look for work The government's initiative helps the unemployed find work.
He's been out of work for six months now.
permanent/regular/temporary work
paid/unpaid/voluntary work
badly paid/well-paid work
give up/go back to/return to work
WORKPLACE
a place, such as an office, a factory, etc., where someone goes to do their job:
The Managing Director always arrived at work early and stayed late.
She claimed her stress was the result of the bank's hostile work environment.
be at/go to/leave work What time do you go to work in the morning?
WORKPLACE
the responsibilities that are part of your job:
start/finish/stop work I don't finish work until 6.30 pm.
I need to take some time off work to look after my son.
Analysts refer to various sources of information to help them make investment decisions in their day-to-day work.
The government launched an inquiry into the work of the Monetary Policy Committee.
do/enjoy/hate your work
factory/manual/office work
administrative/clerical/secretarial work
WORKPLACE
the tasks that need to be completed:
do/produce/take on work The department can't take on any more work until this project is finished.
I always end up taking work home at the weekend.
the mental or physical effort involved in doing or achieving something:
The builders started work on the new offices last week.
carry out/put in work The whole team put in a lot of hard work to win the contract.
We need to set to work on reviewing our claims system.
The finance department has been hard at work on its year-end report.
Management still has a lot of work to do to ensure the company's future.
The committee's report was a very good piece of work.
good/hard work
innovative/major/outstanding work
works
[ plural ] UK
the activity of building or repairing something:
engineering/repair works The road was closed for essential repair works.
works
[ C ] PRODUCTION
an industrial building where materials or goods are manufactured:
Residents protested about the waste produced by the nearby industrial works.
a chemical/gas/steel works
the works foreman/manager/supervisor
the works close down/open
have your work cut out for you informal
to have something very difficult to do:
The government has its work cut out for it trying to reduce the national deficit.
in the works
in the process of being planned or discussed:
Protesters claim the proposed cuts had been in the works for months.
See also
casual
contingent work
make-work
out of work
piecework
public works
welfare to work
work in progress