to work
- verb
- /wɜrk/
- Anyway, friend, I was hoping we could work something out.
And it is a dark arts that work on my brain.
- And it is a dark arts that work on my brain.
- So what's flirtatious for one guy isn't going to work for the other guy, you know.
- So what's flirtatious for one guy is going to work for the other guy, you know.
- Well, a man complimenting you works the same way.
- Your Honor, we should need evidence to believe fraud works in mysterious ways.
Examples
-
But U.S. policymakers should still find ways to work with Iranian religious scholars in Qom and elsewhere.
Academic text (2008) -
The viewer is reminded that salvation awaits all who work peacefully together, no matter their trade.
Academic text (2008) -
We know how to work a crowd.
-
Look at how he works the room.
-
That comedian knows how to work a crowd, am I right?
-
I was thinking it would be swell if you could work up a little interest in me.
-
Both you and your friends should work to convince them that you have always been a traditionalist.
Academic text (2012) -
However, these elements are not disparate; they work together to help students learn cataloging.
Academic text (2015) -
In the meantime, district court judges can work intentionally to minimize these pressures.
Academic text (2017) -
He knows how to work a room, captivating everyone with his charm.
Synonyms
To change how people and things think, act, or develop
Make someone or something change
To make something much better using skill and new ideas
Idioms
- Informal
Act with different goals so people cannot work well together
- Informal
To put a lot of effort into work and enjoy free time actively
- Informal
A humorous question asking if people do their job a lot or only a little
Phrasal Verbs
- Informal
To move around a party or event and talk to many people to make connections
- Specialized
To shape metal by bending or hitting it at room temperature without heat
Do a simple job slowly or in the wrong way so it is much harder than needed
Compounds
An object like a painting or sculpture that people think is beautiful and made with skill
- Informal
Something impressive but difficult, for example a book or building, and sometimes a person who behaves strangely
- Formal
Official paper that lets a person from another country work in that country for a time
Planned activities by religious people to share their faith and help communities
Work that installs, fixes, or looks after wires and devices that bring power into a building
A system where students do paid part-time work and study to gain experience
A song with a steady beat people sing to make repeating work easier, for example in fields or on ships
A belief that hard work, discipline, and saving money are morally good, often linked to Protestant Christianity
- Archaic
Workers who stay at their workplace and keep working to protest closure or job cuts
- Formal
Official documents that show a person may have a job, often for immigrants or young workers
- Specialized
The job of shaping and joining thin metal sheets to make building parts like vents
- Formal
Friendly relationships between people who work together that can cause problems
- Specialized
A type of metal that stays hard at high temperatures used to make cutting tools like drills
- Specialized
Work done by a person who is not a lawyer to help legal cases, like preparing documents and doing research
- Specialized
Work of designing, making, and fixing metal tools and forms used to make parts
- Informal
A close, supportive colleague you have a personal bond with that is not romantic
How Persuasive
Surface Forms
Etymology
Work as a verb comes from the idea of doing or using effort in old weorc, so to work a crowd or work your charm is to use effort to influence or affect people.