to work away

Examples

• All

• Anyway, he's been working away five days a week.

• Day after day, she worked away, remaking the old Granville house into a home.

• All afternoon, they worked away in the kitchen.

  Fiction book (1999)

• But I, I, I should say that there are hundreds of scientists like me working away everyday to help solve this problem.

  Rich Roll

• Lillian and I are working away.

  Brainstorm (1983)

• Day after day she worked away, remaking the old Granville house into a home.

  It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

• Inside the other cubicles, his co-workers were hunched over their computers, working away like their job had some point, meaning, or higher purpose.

  Fiction book (2000)

• Duguid continued to work away in his attempt to unravel the complexities of war, refusing to be rushed.

  Academic text (2005)

• We have been working away at trying to attract foreign direct investment.

• Ned had already returned from his lunch when I got back, and he was working away.

Synonyms

W

to work at

vsto work away

489 2.3

To try hard to get better at or finish something over time

focuses more on continued steady action rather than general effort

G

to go the distance

vsto work away

16 4.6

To keep working on a task until it is finished, even when it is hard

involves long steady effort but stresses finishing the whole task

P

to plug away

vsto work away

• Informal

6 5.2

To work slowly and steadily on a difficult task

is steady persistent action over time without stressing difficulty

B

to beaver away

vsto work away

• UK

1 6.4

To work hard and steadily for a long time

emphasizes ongoing steady action without stressing great effort

P

to peg away

vsto work away

• UK

8.6

To keep working for a long time on something difficult or boring

focuses on continuous steady effort rather than intensity or speed

S

to slug away at

vsto work away

• Informal

6.3

To keep working hard on a difficult or long task

describes steady continuation but less focus on sheer hard effort

B

to blaze away at

vsto work away

• Informal

7.1

To work on a task with a lot of energy for a long time

means steady persistent action but with lower intensity

Antonyms

G

to give up

∞ 1.2

To stop trying to do something or accept defeat

S

to slack off

• Informal

3 3.9

To become less strong or busy

How Persistent

to slave

47 5.3

to toil

35 5.3

to work away

5 3.7

to keep it up

87 3.0

to try

∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology