dictionary | A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
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Sounds | wer'k |
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Rhymes | artwork, Ataturk, beadwork, and 50 more rhymes in erk at the HyperDic website... |
Meaning | Activity directed toward making or doing something. |
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Examples | "she checked several points needing further work" |
Narrower | wash, washing, lavation; action; job; job; operation, procedure; service; shining, polishing; heavy lifting; housewifery; housework, housekeeping; ironing; busywork, make-work; logging; loose end, unfinished business; nightwork; paperwork; welfare work, social service; labor, labour, toil; subbing, substituting; investigation, investigating; care, attention, aid, tending; duty; mission, missionary work; spadework; timework; undertaking, project, task, labor; coursework |
Broader | activity |
Verbs | work; work; work; work |
Meaning | A product produced or accomplished through the effort or activity or agency of a person or thing. |
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Examples | "it is not regarded as one of his more memorable works"; "the symphony was hailed as an ingenious work"; "he was indebted to the pioneering work of John Dewey"; "the work of an active imagination"; "erosion is the work of wind or water over time" |
Synonyms | piece of work |
Narrower | follow-up, followup; handicraft, handcraft, handiwork, handwork; ironwork; lacework; lacquerware; leatherwork; masterpiece, chef-d'oeuvre; metalwork; openwork; silverwork; wicker, wickerwork, caning; woodwork; work in progress; workpiece; publication |
Broader | product, production |
Verbs | work; work |
Meaning | The occupation for which you are paid. |
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Examples | "a lot of people are out of work" |
Synonyms | employment |
Narrower | coaching, coaching job; engagement, booking; seafaring, navigation, sailing; workload; piecework; service; telecommuting, teleworking; services; public service; paper route |
Broader | occupation, business, job, line of work, line |
Verbs | work; work |
Meaning | Applying the mind to learning and understanding a subject (especially by reading). |
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Examples | "mastering a second language requires a lot of work" |
Synonyms | study |
Broader | learning, acquisition |
Meaning | The total output of a writer or artist (or a substantial part of it). |
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Examples | "Picasso's work can be divided into periods" |
Synonyms | oeuvre, body of work |
Narrower | writing |
Broader | end product, output |
Meaning | A place where work is done. |
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Examples | "he arrived at work early today" |
Synonyms | workplace |
Parts | locker room |
Narrower | bakery, bakeshop, bakehouse; beehive; brokerage house, brokerage; central, telephone exchange, exchange; colliery, pit; creamery; drill site; exchange; farm; fishery, piscary; fish farm; forge, smithy; gasworks; glassworks; ironworks; job; lab, laboratory, research lab, research laboratory, science lab, science laboratory; laundry; lumberyard; oyster bed, oyster bank, oyster park; proving ground; ropewalk, rope yard; roundhouse; shipyard; shop floor; studio; studio; tannery; test bed; waterworks; workshop, shop |
Broader | geographic point, geographical point |
Meaning | (physics) a manifestation of energy. The transfer of energy from one physical system to another expressed as the product of a force and the distance through which it moves a body in the direction of that force. |
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Examples | "work equals force times distance" |
Category | physics, physical science, natural philosophy |
Broader | energy |
Meaning | Exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity. |
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Pattern | Somebody ----s; Somebody ----s PP |
Model | Sam and Sue work |
Examples | "I will work hard to improve my grades"; "she worked hard for better living conditions for the poor" |
Narrower | work through, run through, go through; putter, mess around, potter, tinker, monkey, monkey around, muck about, muck around; carpenter; clerk; page; wait; pull one's weight; electioneer; assist; beaver, beaver away; work at, work on; plug away, peg away, slog, keep one's nose to the grindstone, keep one's shoulder to the wheel; busy, occupy; collaborate, join forces, cooperate, get together; volunteer; specialize, specialise; minister; intern; skipper; boondoggle; skimp, scant; serve; work |
Contrary | idle, laze, slug, stagnate |
Similar to | work, do work |
Nouns | work; worker; work; worker; worker |
Meaning | Be employed. |
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Pattern | Somebody ----s; Somebody ----s PP |
Examples | "Is your husband working again?"; "My wife never worked"; "Do you want to work after the age of 60?"; "She never did any work because she inherited a lot of money"; "She works as a waitress to put herself through college" |
Synonyms | do work |
Caused by | work, put to work |
Entailed by | practice, practise, exercise, do |
Narrower | serve; bank; fill, take; drive; tinker; serve; scab, rat, blackleg; labor, labour, toil, fag, travail, grind, drudge, dig, moil; farm; moonlight; job; man; slave, break one's back, buckle down, knuckle down; free-lance; subcontract; turn a trick |
Similar to | work, put to work; work; work |
Nouns | work; worker |
Meaning | Have an effect or outcome. Often the one desired or expected. |
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Pattern | Something ----s; Something is ----ing PP |
Examples | "The voting process doesn't work as well as people thought"; "How does your idea work in practice?"; "This method doesn't work"; "The medicine works only if you take it with a lot of water" |
Synonyms | act |
Broader | succeed, win, come through, bring home the bacon, deliver the goods |
Similar to | bring, work, play, wreak, make for |
Nouns | work |
Meaning | Perform as expected when applied. |
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Pattern | Something ----s |
Model | These cars won't work |
Examples | "This old radio doesn't work anymore" |
Synonyms | function, operate, go, run |
Narrower | double; roll; run; cut; service, serve |
Contrary | malfunction, misfunction |
Similar to | run; work |
Meaning | Shape, form, or improve a material. |
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Pattern | Somebody ----s something |
Examples | "work stone into tools"; "work the metal" |
Synonyms | work on, process |
Narrower | coldwork, cold work; overwork; rework, make over, retread; rack; tool; till |
Broader | transform, transmute, transubstantiate |
Similar to | shape, form, work, mold, mould, forge |
Meaning | Give a work-out to. |
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Pattern | Somebody ----s something; Somebody ----s somebody |
Model | They work the animals |
Examples | "My personal trainer works me hard"; "work one's muscles" |
Synonyms | exercise, work out |
Cause to | exercise, work out |
Narrower | warm up |
Broader | work, put to work |
Similar to | exercise, work out |
Meaning | Proceed along a path. |
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Pattern | Something is ----ing PP; Somebody ----s PP |
Model | They work up the hill |
Examples | "work one's way through the crowd" |
Synonyms | make |
Narrower | claw; jostle; bushwhack |
Broader | pass, go through, go across |
Similar to | work |
Meaning | Operate in a certain place, area, or specialty. |
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Pattern | Somebody ----s something; Somebody ----s PP |
Model | They work in the city |
Examples | "She works the night clubs"; "The salesman works the Midwest"; "This artist works mostly in acrylics" |
Broader | work |
Similar to | work, do work |
Nouns | work |
Meaning | Proceed towards a goal or along a path or through an activity. |
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Pattern | Somebody ----s PP |
Examples | "work your way through every problem or task"; "She was working on her second martini when the guests arrived"; "Start from the bottom and work towards the top" |
Broader | go, proceed, move |
Similar to | make, work |
Nouns | work |
Meaning | Move in an agitated manner. |
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Pattern | Somebody ----s something |
Examples | "His fingers worked with tension" |
Broader | move, displace |
Meaning | Cause to happen or to occur as a consequence. |
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Pattern | Somebody ----s something; Something ----s something |
Examples | "I cannot work a miracle" |
Synonyms | bring, play, wreak, make for |
Broader | make, create |
Similar to | work, act |
Meaning | Cause to work. |
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Pattern | Somebody ----s something; Somebody ----s somebody |
Model | They work the animals |
Examples | "he is working his servants hard" |
Synonyms | put to work |
Cause to | work, do work |
Narrower | exercise, work, work out; warm up; cybernate, computerize, computerise; rack; overwork, exploit |
Broader | use, utilize, utilise, apply, employ |
Similar to | work, do work |
Nouns | work; work |
Meaning | Prepare for crops. |
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Pattern | Somebody ----s something |
Examples | "Work the soil" |
Synonyms | cultivate, crop |
Category | farming, agriculture, husbandry |
Entailed by | till |
Narrower | overcrop, overcultivate |
Broader | fix, prepare, set up, ready, gear up, set |
Similar to | knead, work |
Meaning | Behave in a certain way when handled. |
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Pattern | Something ----s Adjective/Noun |
Examples | "This dough does not work easily"; "The soft metal works well" |
Broader | be |
Similar to | knead, work |
Meaning | Have and exert influence or effect. |
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Pattern | Somebody ----s PP; Somebody ----s something; Somebody ----s somebody; Something ----s somebody; Something ----s something |
Examples | "The artist's work influenced the young painter"; "She worked on her friends to support the political candidate" |
Synonyms | influence, act upon |
Narrower | prejudice, prepossess; imprint, form; militate; manipulate, pull strings, pull wires; color, colour; swing, swing over; blackmail, blackjack, pressure; carry, persuade, sway; get at; dominate |
Broader | affect, impact, bear upon, bear on, touch on, touch |
Meaning | Operate in or through. |
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Pattern | Somebody ----s something |
Examples | "Work the phones" |
Broader | operate, run |
Similar to | function, work, operate, go, run; work |
Meaning | Cause to operate or function. |
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Pattern | Somebody ----s something |
Examples | "This pilot works the controls"; "Can you work an electric drill?" |
Broader | manage, deal, care, handle |
Similar to | work |
Meaning | Provoke or excite. |
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Pattern | Somebody ----s somebody; Something ----s somebody |
Examples | "The rock musician worked the crowd of young girls into a frenzy" |
Broader | stimulate, excite, stir |
Similar to | exploit, work; work |
Meaning | Gratify and charm, usually in order to influence. |
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Pattern | Somebody ----s somebody; Something ----s somebody |
Examples | "the political candidate worked the crowds" |
Broader | capture, enamour, trance, catch, becharm, enamor, captivate, beguile, charm, fascinate, bewitch, entrance, enchant |
Similar to | work |
Meaning | Make something, usually for a specific function. |
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Pattern | Somebody ----s something; Somebody ----s something PP |
Examples | "Work the metal into a sword" |
Synonyms | shape, form, mold, mould, forge |
Narrower | carve; swage, upset; chip; machine; stamp; puddle; beat; preform; preform; mound; hill; roughcast; reshape, remold; sinter; cast, mold, mould; throw; handbuild, hand-build, coil; sculpt, sculpture; model, mold, mould |
Broader | create from raw material, create from raw stuff |
Similar to | work, work on, process |
Meaning | Move into or onto. |
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Pattern | Somebody ----s something; Somebody ----s PP |
Examples | "work the raisins into the dough"; "the student worked a few jokes into his presentation"; "work the body onto the flatbed truck" |
Narrower | stir |
Broader | move, displace |
Meaning | Make uniform. |
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Pattern | Somebody ----s something |
Examples | "work the clay until it is soft" |
Synonyms | knead |
Narrower | proof; masticate |
Broader | manipulate |
Similar to | cultivate, crop, work; work |
Meaning | Use or manipulate to one's advantage. |
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Pattern | Somebody ----s something; Somebody ----s somebody |
Examples | "She knows how to work the system"; "he works his parents for sympathy" |
Synonyms | exploit |
Narrower | make hay; play; avail, help; prey, feed; use |
Broader | use, utilize, utilise, apply, employ |
Similar to | work |
Meaning | Find the solution to (a problem or question) or understand the meaning of. |
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Pattern | Somebody ----s something |
Examples | "Work out your problems with the boss"; "this unpleasant situation isn't going to work itself out"; "He could not work the math problem" |
Synonyms | solve, work out, figure out, puzzle out, lick |
Entails | reason |
Narrower | answer, resolve; riddle; strike; guess, infer; answer; break |
Broader | understand |
Meaning | Cause to undergo fermentation. |
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Pattern | Somebody ----s something; Something ----s something |
Examples | "The vintner worked the wine in big oak vats" |
Synonyms | ferment |
Cause to | sour, turn, ferment, work |
Narrower | vinify |
Broader | convert |
Similar to | sour, turn, ferment, work |
Meaning | Go sour or spoil. |
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Pattern | Something ----s |
Examples | "The wine worked" |
Synonyms | sour, turn, ferment |
Caused by | ferment, work |
Entailed by | brew |
Broader | change state, turn |
Similar to | ferment, work |
Meaning | Arrive at a certain condition through repeated motion. |
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Pattern | Something ----s Adjective/Noun |
Examples | "The stitches of the hem worked loose after she wore the skirt many times" |
Broader | become, go, get |