paperwork
noun
pa·per·work
ˈpā-pər-ˌwərk 
: routine clerical or recordkeeping work often incidental to a more important task
Examples of paperwork in a Sentence
She failed to file the paperwork on time.
The lawyer had us fill in the paperwork for the mortgage.
Recent Examples on the Web
While one of the responding officers was filling out paperwork, another officer, who fired the fatal shots, saw Laing running through the front yard toward his neighbor’s home.
—
Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 12 Apr. 2024
The three-employee Office of Immigrant Affairs helps immigrants and refugees with paperwork and other challenges.
—David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2024
But earlier this week, two individuals filed paperwork in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties requesting a recount of the votes.
—Grace Hase, The Mercury News, 12 Apr. 2024
Her staff helped unload paperwork, office supplies, medical equipment and memorabilia.
—Darin Oswald, Idaho Statesman, 11 Apr. 2024
With them was the paperwork that would allow their embryos to be discarded through donation to science.
—Justine McDaniel, Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2024
The Biden administration did something similar with public service loan forgiveness: making sure more borrowers' payments counted toward the total required by relaxing rigid paperwork rules and including more types of payment plans into the total count.
—Monica Potts, ABC News, 9 Apr. 2024
The paperwork shows that nine individuals helped gather the signatures.
—Laura Gersony, The Arizona Republic, 6 Apr. 2024
The lawyers never filed paperwork alerting the appeals court.
—Robert Faturechi, ProPublica, 5 Apr. 2024
Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 12 Apr. 2024
The three-employee Office of Immigrant Affairs helps immigrants and refugees with paperwork and other challenges.
—David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2024
But earlier this week, two individuals filed paperwork in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties requesting a recount of the votes.
—Grace Hase, The Mercury News, 12 Apr. 2024
Her staff helped unload paperwork, office supplies, medical equipment and memorabilia.
—Darin Oswald, Idaho Statesman, 11 Apr. 2024
With them was the paperwork that would allow their embryos to be discarded through donation to science.
—Justine McDaniel, Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2024
The Biden administration did something similar with public service loan forgiveness: making sure more borrowers' payments counted toward the total required by relaxing rigid paperwork rules and including more types of payment plans into the total count.
—Monica Potts, ABC News, 9 Apr. 2024
The paperwork shows that nine individuals helped gather the signatures.
—Laura Gersony, The Arizona Republic, 6 Apr. 2024
The lawyers never filed paperwork alerting the appeals court.
—Robert Faturechi, ProPublica, 5 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'paperwork.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1899, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near paperwork
Cite this Entry
“Paperwork.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paperwork. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
paperwork
noun
pa·per·work
-ˌwərk
: routine office or record-keeping work
More from Merriam-Webster on paperwork
Nglish: Translation of paperwork for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of paperwork for Arabic Speakers
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