work in progress
41
3.4
- noun
:
trabajo en curso
- The painting is still a work in progress, and the artist hopes to finish it by next month.
- still a work in progress
- remain a work in progress
- very much a work in progress
It is a work in progress, that dialogue with the self.
- It is a work in progress, that dialogue with the self.
- And you know, it's, I'm always a work in progress as we all are.
- I am a work in progress, like we all are.
- My mom just says he's a work in progress.
- You know, like so it's a work in progress.
- So with human beings, I've worked very hard and I'm a work in progress, but I'm very patient with human beings.
Examples
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It is a work in progress, that dialogue with the self.
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It's still a work in progress, a long way off, but some experts are working on that very question.
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That whole section is a bit of a work in progress, shall we say.
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It's still very much a work in progress.
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The United States is probably best described as a work in progress.
Academic text (2005) -
And if we're a work in progress, there will be times in a relationship or in dating that are hard.
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But still, this is a work in progress, very expensive and very time consuming.
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So far, the reform is still a work in progress, but some positive early indicators have emerged.
Academic text (2010) -
Reports on the work in progress will be available on the Internet at www.vartry.com.
Academic text (2000) -
I am excited to start making stuff here, but it's still a work in progress so I'll hold off on giving you a full tour for now.
Synonyms
5
7.2
An unfinished piece of work still being developed
Antonyms
How Complete
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally denotes 'work that is in progress'—the constituents 'work', 'in', and 'progress' combine compositionally to indicate an ongoing or unfinished task. This noun + prepositional-phrase pattern is common in English and has direct equivalents in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the parts should readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Work in progress gives a clear picture: imagine a painting with wet paint or a building with ladders and boards, where the work is still in progress and not finished. So, the phrase means 'a project or piece of work that is not yet completed'.