work

1 a literary, musical, or artistic production unfortunately, many of her works are now out of print Synonyms number, opus, piece, compositionRelated Words classic, magnum opus, masterpiece, pièce de résistance, showpiece; model, outline, sketch; étude; canon, corpus, oeuvre

2 something produced by physical or intellectual effort the new Web application is the work of a pair of young but highly gifted programmers Synonyms affair, fruit, handiwork, labor, output, produce, production, thing, product, yieldRelated Words article, commodity, entry, object; goods, line, merchandise, wares; handcraft, handicraft; aftereffect, aftermath, conclusion, consequence, corollary, development, effect, issue, outcome, result, resultant, sequel, sequence, upshot; by-product, derivative, offshoot, offspring, outgrowth, residual, side effect (also side reaction), spin-off

3 the action for which a person or thing is specially fitted or used or for which a thing exists the work of a movie director is to tell a story through a series of striking images Synonyms business, capacity, function, job, part, place, position, purpose, task, roleRelated Words affair, concern, hand, involvement, participation; niche, office, post, situation; calling, occupation, pursuit, vocation; activity, assignment, charge, commission, duty, employ, mission, responsibility, service, use

4 the active use of energy in producing a result put a lot of work into the project Synonyms elbow grease, exertion, expenditure, labor, pains, sweat, trouble, while, effortRelated Words drudgery, grind, slog, strain, toil, travail; dint, energy; force, might, muscle, power, puissance; attempt, endeavor, essay, fling, go, pass, shot, stab, trial, try, whackNear Antonyms adroitness, ease, facility, fluency, smoothness; dormancy, idleness, inaction, inactivity, indolence, inertia, languor, laziness, quiescence

5 the activity by which one regularly makes a living what line of work are you in? Synonyms calling, employment, game, lay, line, profession, trade, vocation, occupationRelated Words call, lifework; business, enterprise, field, livelihood, living, métier (also metier), racket [slang]; assignment, engagement, gig, mission; art, craft, handcraft, handicraft; appointment, berth, billet, office, place, position, post, situation; duty, function, job, load, task, workloadNear Antonyms avocation, hobby, pursuit

6 works pl  a building or set of buildings for the manufacturing of goods a glass works where high quality glassware is made Synonyms manufactory, mill, plant, shop, works, workshopRelated Words sweatshop; atelier, studio, workplace, workroom; yard

1 to be the cause of (a situation, action, or state of mind) this new drug can really work wonders Synonyms beget, breed, bring, bring about, bring on, catalyze, cause, create, do, draw on, effectuate, engender, generate, induce, invoke, make, occasion, produce, prompt, result (in), spawn, translate (into), effect, yieldRelated Words conduce (to), contribute (to); decide, determine; begin, establish, father, found, inaugurate, initiate, innovate, institute, introduce, launch, pioneer, set, set up, start; advance, cultivate, develop, encourage, forward, foster, further, nourish, nurture, promote; enact, render, turn outNear Antonyms impede, limit, restrict; clamp down (on), crack down (on), crush, dampen, put down, quash, quell, repress, smother, squash, squelch, stifle, subdue, suppress; arrest, check, control, curb, inhibit, rein (in), restrain, retard; can [slang], kill, snuff (out), still; abolish, demolish, destroy, extinguish, liquidate, quench

2 to find an answer for through reasoning finally figured out how to work the math problem Synonyms answer, break, crack, dope (out), figure out, puzzle (out), resolve, riddle (out), unravel, unriddle, solve, work outRelated Words conclude, decide, deduce, gather, infer, judge, reason; clear (up), iron out, straighten (out), unscramble, untangle, untie; assume, conjecture, divine, guess, presume, speculate; decipher, decode

3 to have a certain purpose the human kidneys work as a filtering system for the blood Synonyms act, perform, serve, functionRelated Words operate, run; administer, carry on, control, direct, guide, handle, manage, oversee, regulate, supervise

4 to produce a desired effect this headache remedy takes half an hour to work Synonyms operate, perform, take, actRelated Words behave, react, respond; affect, influence, sway; pan out, redound, resultNear Antonyms backfire; fizzle

5 to set or keep in motion this pump is worked by hand Synonyms actuate, drive, impel, propel, moveRelated Words activate, motivate, provoke; abet, ferment, foment, incite, raise, stir (up), whip (up); set off, trigger, trip; arouse, excite, fire (up), galvanize, inflame (also enflame), inspire, instigate, rouse, stimulateNear Antonyms bridle, check, constrain, contain, control, curb, inhibit, regulate, rein (in), restrain

6 to control the mechanical operation of show me how to work the machine Synonyms handle, run, operateRelated Words use; maneuver, manipulate, ply, wield; command, control, direct, drive, guide, pilot, steer

7 to devote serious and sustained effort the organization has worked for years to raise people's awareness of human rights issues Synonyms bang away, beaver (away), dig (away), drudge, endeavor, fag, grub, hump, hustle, moil, peg (away), plod, plow, plug, slave, slog, strain, strive, struggle, sweat, toil, travail, tug, laborRelated Words apply (oneself), buckle (down), dig in, hammer (away), knuckle down, pitch in; attack, drive; essay, try; exercise, exert, overexert, overwork; eke out, grind (out), put out, scrabble, scratch; trudge, wadeNear Antonyms break, ease (up), let up, slacken; bum, chill, dally, dillydally, footle, goldbrick, goof (off), hack (around), hang (around or out), idle, laze, loaf, lounge, shirk, slack (off), veg out; bask, loll, relax, repose, rest, unwind; dabble, doodle, fool around, fribble, goof (around), hang, hang about [British], mess around, monkey (around), play, potter (around), putter (around), trifle

8 to take unfair advantage of a woman not afraid to work her sex appeal in order to get ahead Synonyms abuse, capitalize (on), cash in (on), impose (on or upon), leverage, milk, pimp, play (on or upon), use, exploitRelated Words jerk around, manipulate, mistreat; bleed, cheat, fleece, overcharge, skin, soak, stick; commercialize, commodify