work
pronunciation
How to pronounce work in British English:
UK [wɜːk]
How to pronounce work in American English:
US [wɜːrk]
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- Noun:
- activity directed toward making or doing something
- a product produced or accomplished through the effort or activity or agency of a person or thing
- the occupation for which you are paid
- applying the mind to learning and understanding a subject (especially by reading)
- the total output of a writer or artist (or a substantial part of it)
- a place where work is done
- (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
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- Verb:
- exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
- be employed
- have an effect or outcome; often the one desired or expected
- perform as expected when applied
- shape, form, or improve a material
- give a work-out to
- proceed along a path
- operate in a certain place, area, or specialty
- proceed towards a goal or along a path or through an activity
- move in an agitated manner
- cause to happen or to occur as a consequence
- cause to work
- prepare for crops
- behave in a certain way when handled
- have and exert influence or effect
- operate in or through
- cause to operate or function
- provoke or excite
- gratify and charm, usually in order to influence
- make something, usually for a specific function
- move into or onto
- make uniform
- use or manipulate to one's advantage
- find the solution to (a problem or question) or understand the meaning of
- cause to undergo fermentation
- go sour or spoil
- arrive at a certain condition through repeated motion
Word Origin
- work
- work: [OE] Work is at the centre of a small family of English words that go back ultimately to Indo- European *werg-, *worg- ‘do, work’ (other members include energy, organ, and orgy). From this base was formed the noun *wergon, which passed into prehistoric Germanic as *werkam, and evolved from there into German and Dutch werk, Swedish verk, and English work. Wright ‘craftsman’ [OE] (which now survives only in compounds) comes from the same source (with the transposition of r and the vowel), as does wrought, originally the past participle of the verb work.=> energy, organ, orgy, wright, wrought
- work (n.)
- Old English weorc, worc "something done, discreet act performed by someone, action (whether voluntary or required), proceeding, business; that which is made or manufactured, products of labor," also "physical labor, toil; skilled trade, craft, or occupation; opportunity of expending labor in some useful or remunerative way;" also "military fortification," from Proto-Germanic *werkan (cognates: Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Dutch werk, Old Norse verk, Middle Dutch warc, Old High German werah, German Werk, Gothic gawaurki), from PIE *werg-o-, from root *werg- "to do" (see organ). Work is less boring than amusing oneself. [Baudelaire, "Mon Coeur mis a nu," 1862] Meaning "physical effort, exertion" is from c. 1200; meaning "scholarly labor" or its productions is from c. 1200; meaning "artistic labor" or its productions is from c. 1200. Meaning "labor as a measurable commodity" is from c. 1300. Meaning "embroidery, stitchery, needlepoint" is from late 14c. Work of art attested by 1774 as "artistic creation," earlier (1728) "artifice, production of humans (as opposed to nature)." Work ethic recorded from 1959. To be out of work "unemployed" is from 1590s. To make clean work of is from c. 1300; to make short work of is from 1640s. Proverbial expression many hands make light work is from c. 1300. To have (one's) work cut out for one is from 1610s; to have it prepared and prescribed, hence, to have all one can handle. Work in progress is from 1930 in a general sense, earlier as a specific term in accountancy and parliamentary procedure.
- work (v.)
- a fusion of Old English wyrcan (past tense worhte, past participle geworht) "prepare, perform, do, make, construct, produce; strive after" (from Proto-Germanic *wurkijan); and Old English wircan (Mercian) "to operate, function, set in motion," a secondary verb formed relatively late from Proto-Germanic noun *werkan (see work (n.)). Sense of "perform physical labor" was in Old English, as was sense "ply one's trade" and "exert creative power, be a creator." Transitive sense "manipulate (physical substances) into a desired state or form" was in Old English. Meaning "have the expected or desired effect" is from late 14c. In Middle English also "perform sexually" (mid-13c.). Related: Worked (15c.); working. To work up "excite" is from c. 1600. To work over "beat up, thrash" is from 1927. To work against "attempt to subvert" is from late 14c.
Example
- 1. After work he went home .
- 2. Some monetary unions work well .
- 3. Service preceded art in his work .
- 4. This gave his work an unfinished air .
- 5. In an african village , everyone is expected to work .