legwork

leg·work | \ ˈleg-ˌwərk

How to pronounce legwork (audio)

also ˈlāg- \

Definition of legwork

: active physical work (as in gathering information) that forms the basis of more creative or mentally exacting work (such as writing a book)

Examples of legwork in a Sentence

I wrote the article myself, but my assistant gathered the information and did most of the other legwork.

Recent Examples on the Web Before and after the call, aides to both presidents did significant legwork to set them up to discuss the items under discussion and then execute the quid pro quo, as evidence produced in the House investigation showed. — Jonathan Allen, NBC News, "Impeachment managers have trigger man, smoking gun and motive," 24 Jan. 2020 Auto-aim system does just enough legwork to let players focus on speed without completely dumbing the game down. — Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, "Pistol Whip review: The year’s freshest VR game—and oh-so close to greatness," 7 Nov. 2019 Looking closer at footage of the Saharan silver ants’ legwork, the team discovered why: The silver ants were simply moving their shorter legs blindingly fast, taking nearly 50 strides per second. — Jake Buehler, National Geographic, "World’s fastest ants found racing across the Sahara," 16 Oct. 2019 Cracking those cases required legwork, government informants and luck. — Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, "California gang leaders’ prison cell phones reveal secrets that stayed in the dark for years," 3 July 2019 Another option is to consider paying for a service that does the legwork for you. — David Nield, Wired, "How to Opt Out of the Sites That Sell Your Personal Data," 7 Nov. 2019 Her legwork has led to state intervention and the impending appointment of a board of managers that’s long overdue. — Elaine Ayala, ExpressNews.com, "Trump supporters don’t see an abuse of power," 5 Oct. 2019 Long before soccer titans Argentina and Mexico squared off Tuesday night in an international friendly at the Alamodome, there was plenty of legwork to make the event reality. — Terrence Thomas, ExpressNews.com, "Soccer titans put on show in Alamo City," 11 Sep. 2019 Milner credits Friscic, a postdoctoral research associate who came to MIT from Croatia in 2016, with doing most of the legwork for the experiment. — Maria Lovato, BostonGlobe.com, "MIT physicists design an experiment to study the origin of oxygen in the universe," 27 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'legwork.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

4 Feb 2020

Cite this Entry

“Legwork.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legwork. Accessed 16 Feb. 2020.

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