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Glite Dictionary
👊 To beat up 🔍 To review carefully
to work over

to work over

3 4.4
To carefully check and change writing or plans for mistakes
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : trabajar sobre
  • Clayton prayed for the next hour and then worked over the books some more.
  • work over the entire
  • work over the entire surface
  • work over the painting

Examples

  • My query was worked over by a few friends until it zinged.

    Blog text (29)

  • Only they have been working it over with their experts and their computers for months.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Over lunch one day, he admitted that he'd only read the first chapter of my worked-over manuscript.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • I was laboring over a novel, my third, which I'd been working on for over two years, writing and endlessly rewriting, it seemed.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • After finishing my first draft, I worked over the essay several times to improve its clarity.

  • The editor told me to work over the document carefully before submitting it for publication.

  • Before submitting the report, she spent hours working over the data to ensure accuracy.

Synonyms

to go over
vsto work over
642 2.5

To check something carefully, like papers or work

focuses on full careful change rather than routine inspection
to review
vsto work over
  • Formal
384 2.6

To examine something again to check details or make changes

is general careful examination and change rather than formal assessment
to work through
vsto work over
152 3.4

To deal with a problem, task, or feeling step by step until it is done

is about complete careful change rather than gradual stepwise solving
to run through
vsto work over
25 3.4

Practice something to check for mistakes

focuses on full careful change rather than rehearsal practice
to check over
vsto work over
10 2.8

To look at something carefully to find mistakes or problems

emphasizes complete careful change rather than simple examination
to reanalyze
vsto work over
3 4.4

To examine something again using new information to check for mistakes

is general careful change rather than technical new examination
to hash over
vsto work over
  • Informal
1 6.0

Talk about something again in detail

is often solitary careful change not mainly a group discussion
to rake over
vsto work over
  • Informal
7.1

Carefully examine and discuss a topic, often when it is difficult or unpleasant

focuses on careful change without the negative rehashing tone

Antonyms

to ignore
∞ 1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

to disregard
119 3.9

Ignore something or someone on purpose

How Thorough

to overhaul
35 4.6
to work over
3 4.4
to revise
179 3.4
to review
  • Formal
384 2.6
to check
∞ 1.0
to scan
127 2.7

Surface Forms

work over infinitive
worked over past
worked over past participle
working over present participle
works over third person singular

Morphology

work + over

The sense 'revise or examine thoroughly' is related to combining 'work' (to do effort on something) with the particle 'over', which commonly conveys repetition or thoroughness, so a learner who knows the constituents could partly infer this meaning. However, particle-verb semantics are variable and potentially ambiguous (e.g., 'work someone over' = beat someone), so the precise revision/review sense is not fully predictable to a B1 learner without exposure.

Etymology

The verb work over may come from the idea of doing more work over something, like going over a paper again to fix mistakes. So, it means 'to review or revise something carefully'.