to work in fee

4.8

To do paid work instead of volunteering

phrasal verb

: trabajar por honorarios

The attorney agreed to work in fee rather than handle the case for free.

Examples

Doctors who work in fee typically charge clients directly for their services.
She decided to work in fee instead of volunteering.
Unlike volunteers, consultants usually work in fee for organizations.
I prefer to work in fee for my services.
Many freelancers work in fee to ensure they receive appropriate compensation for their time.
Most professionals work in fee, so clients must pay for their expertise and services.
He prefers to work in fee rather than offer his skills for free.

Antonyms

unpaid

32 1.7

Work done without payment, for example by volunteers

volunteer

7 3.5

Not paid for doing a job

How Paid

salaried

12 3.4

to work in fee

4.8

volunteer

7 3.5

Surface Forms

work in fee infinitive

Morphology

work + in + fee

The core meaning 'to work for payment' follows directly from combining 'work' and 'fee', so the semantic relation is mostly compositional. However, the preposition 'in' is non‑standard in English (native phrasing is typically 'work for a fee' or 'work for pay'), so a B1 learner might not recognise this exact string or its idiomaticity; therefore the item is only partially predictable.

Etymology

The phrase work in fee may come from old official language where fee meant a payment for a service. Imagine doing a job and being handed a small bag of coins — to work in fee literally puts that payment first, so it now means 'to work for payment' rather than as a 'volunteer'.