to work one's ass off
13
8.4
- idiom
- Offensive
:
trabajar como un cabrón (vulgar, informal)
- She works her ass off every day to provide for her family.
- work your ass off all day
- work your ass off but get
- worked your ass off trying
Examples
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I worked my ass off for that.
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You work your ass off to be successful, and then you stay in business.
Blog text (5) -
I mean, you work your ass off, you can make it here.
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Your buddy worked his ass off for this.
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I work my ass off to get you everything you want.
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You are required to work your ass off.
Fiction book (2000) -
And she has worked her ass off to achieve this awesome success!
Blog text (27) -
I work my ass off until quitting time.
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For a quarter of my life, I've been working my ass off for this moment.
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You worked your ass off in a time of a crumbling economy and tried to realize your goals.
Blog text (8)
Synonyms
8
3.4
Spend a lot of time doing hard, tiring tasks
4
7.4
Do very hard, long jobs until you are very tired
3
4.8
Try very hard for some time
2
7.5
To start working very hard to reach a goal
1
9.1
To work very hard to finish something
1
3.6
To use a lot of energy to do a hard job for a long time
1
8.6
To try very hard to do something
1
6.8
To work very hard and use a lot of energy
To do very hard, long tasks until you are very tired
To work very hard at something until you are very tired
Put in as much effort and energy as possible
Antonyms
How Hard
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb 'work' clearly signals effort, while 'ass' here is a vulgar body-part metaphor serving as an emphatic intensifier and 'off' is non-literal; a learner who knows the constituents can probably infer high effort but not the exact idiomatic sense or register. Because the expression relies on a figurative intensifier and coarse colloquial usage rather than straightforward composition, it is only partially predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
The idiom work one's ass off gives a strong, slightly rude picture: imagine someone working so hard that their ass is almost worn off. That's why it means 'to work extremely hard'.