to work the room
5
7.1
- phrasal verb
- Informal
:
socializar
- Mike D'Antoni worked the room through the duration of his conference, which undoubtedly instilled confidence in people still "mourning" passing on Phil Jackson.
- watched him work the room
- President Trump worked the room
Examples
-
At the networking event, she made sure to work the room, introducing herself to everyone.
-
In a community center now serving as a shelter, Obama and Christie worked the room.
Blog text (25) -
You should see him work the room.
-
Look at how he works the room.
-
I saw you last night working the room.
-
If they have never been to the event before, work the room and introduce them to the people they should meet.
Blog text (27) -
Let's work the room just a bit more.
Fiction book (1992) -
She really knows how to work the room!
Academic text (2013) -
He knows how to work the room.
Blog text (19) -
She's charming, she's funny, she works the room.
Synonyms
64
3.1
Join and talk with other people at a meeting or party
38
5.6
Spend time meeting many different people
9
8.6
To talk in a friendly way to make people like you and get an advantage
5
7.9
To spend time talking with important or famous people
Antonyms
How Sociable
- Informal
4
8.7
- Informal
5
7.1
64
3.1
103
3.9
619
2.4
34
4.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly inferable from combining 'work' (apply effort or influence) with 'the room' (the people/space present): it literally means to exert effort around the room to engage people. This follows a standard verb + object composition and maps clearly onto the constituents, so a B1 learner who knows the words should be able to understand the expression.
Etymology
The phrasal verb work the room comes from the image of someone moving around the room and doing the work of talking to many people, like a friendly salesperson. That's why it means 'to meet many people and make a good impression'.