Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🛋️ To do too little 🛋️ Too little work 🏗️ Hidden support
underwork

underwork

7.5
An amount of work that is less than expected
  • noun
  • /ˈʌndərˌwɜrk/
translation icon : subempleo
  • The manager noticed a pattern of underwork among several employees during the project.

Examples

  • Persistent underwork can lead to poor performance reviews and missed opportunities.

  • Due to underwork, the department failed to meet its quarterly goals.

  • The team faced criticism for their underwork this quarter.

  • There was significant underwork in the project deliverables.

  • The manager noticed a pattern of underwork among several employees during the project.

  • Due to underwork, the department failed to meet its quarterly goals.

  • Persistent underwork can lead to poor performance reviews and missed opportunities.

How Much

overwork
5 4.6
workload
  • Specialized
4 3.5
underwork
7.5
workless
5.6

Surface Forms

underwork singular
underworks plural

Morphology

underwork = work (transparent) = under + work

Standard productive prefix 'under-' meaning 'less than' or 'insufficient' combined with the noun 'work' yields the sense 'insufficient work', which a learner can derive from components.

Etymology

Underwork comes from under ('less than' or 'below') + work ('job' or 'task'), so picture work that sits 'below' what is needed. That's why underwork means an amount of work that is not enough.