work 1 of 2

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as in to serve
to have a certain purpose the human kidneys work as a filtering system for the blood

Synonyms & Similar Words

4
as in to perform
to produce a desired effect this headache remedy takes half an hour to work

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

5
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as in to operate
to control the mechanical operation of show me how to work the machine

Synonyms & Similar Words

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work

2 of 2

noun

1
as in composition
a literary, musical, or artistic production unfortunately, many of her works are now out of print

Synonyms & Similar Words

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as in factory
works plural a building or set of buildings for the manufacturing of goods a glass works where high quality glassware is made

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun work contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of work are drudgery, grind, labor, toil, and travail. While all these words mean "activity involving effort or exertion," work may imply activity of body, of mind, of a machine, or of a natural force.

too tired to do any work

In what contexts can drudgery take the place of work?

The meanings of drudgery and work largely overlap; however, drudgery suggests dull and irksome labor.

an editorial job with a good deal of drudgery

When might grind be a better fit than work?

The synonyms grind and work are sometimes interchangeable, but grind implies labor exhausting to mind or body.

the grind of the assembly line

When could labor be used to replace work?

The words labor and work are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, labor applies to physical or intellectual work involving great and often strenuous exertion.

farmers demanding fair compensation for their labor

When is toil a more appropriate choice than work?

The words toil and work can be used in similar contexts, but toil implies prolonged and fatiguing labor.

his lot would be years of back-breaking toil

When is it sensible to use travail instead of work?

Although the words travail and work have much in common, travail is bookish for labor involving pain or suffering.

years of travail were lost when the house burned

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of work
Verb
Indeed, Xie and his team are already working on it. Keith Cooper, Space.com, 19 May 2025 And here’s the kicker: Walmart’s price shift is working. Quartz Staff, Quartz, 19 May 2025
Noun
Follow Santillana for the latest in the world of work. Maria Gracia Santillana Linares, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025 In addition to his work for Scientific American, Billings's writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, Wired, New Scientist, Popular Science, and many other publications. Leonard David, Scientific American, 8 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for work
Recent Examples of Synonyms for work
Verb
  • As for tornado fatalities, this year, many of the twisters that caused deaths occurred in Missouri, Tennessee, and Mississippi, the Storm Prediction Center said.
    Doyle Rice, USA Today, 11 May 2025
  • Steer clear of puddles - Driving into puddles or low areas of rainwater can cause vehicles to hydroplane or skid out of control.
    NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 10 May 2025
Verb
  • Following the murder of her best friend, she’s forced to outrun the mob in her 1969 Plymouth Barracuda, traversing the byways of America while solving murders along the way.
    Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2025
  • No other sport has hockey’s TV problems, that HD did not solve.
    Mac Engel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 May 2025
Verb
  • Sail-away parties are often held when departing destinations, like a variety of personal pizzas being served while leaving Naples, Italy.
    Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 19 May 2025
  • Young Sheldon served as a prequel to the sitcom The Big Bang Theory and gave viewers insight into how everyone’s favorite quirky physicist came to be before Jim Parsons brought him to life in the original 2007 series.
    Emily Blackwood, People.com, 18 May 2025
Verb
  • The group is getting ready to perform Broadway show tunes on May 31 at the Library’s Community Room.
    Ramona Sentinel, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 May 2025
  • Ancelotti is the epitome of a man-manager, able to empower his players to perform to their best of their ability without requiring too much tactical instruction.
    Mark Carey, New York Times, 10 May 2025
Verb
  • About 150 students and 50 adults were evacuated from an elementary school in Maryland after hours of heavy rains driven by an atmospheric river caused major flooding in multiple eastern states.
    Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 15 May 2025
  • Right-hander Mitch Keller gave the Mets almost nothing to work with after a Brandon Nimmo drove in Juan Soto in the first inning.
    Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 14 May 2025
Verb
  • Airspace control was transferred to the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Control Facility (TRACON) last July and, since the move, the radars have been operated with what one source called a remote extension cord-like line.
    Pete Muntean, CNN Money, 10 May 2025
  • The warehouse and distribution center will operate alongside the LEGO factory being built in Virginia, which is set to open in 2027.
    Asher Notheis, The Washington Examiner, 10 May 2025
Verb
  • Too often over the last few years, the Red Sox have struggled to dispatch bad teams.
    Gabrielle Starr, Hartford Courant, 11 May 2025
  • By the time Bush left office, major banks and investment banks were struggling to stay alive, and that was just the ones that didn’t die in 2008.
    John Tamny, Forbes.com, 11 May 2025
Verb
  • Berry was 14 when a classmate used an AI app to attach a nude body to an Instagram photo of her face, before circulating it on social media.
    Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 20 May 2025
  • These jangly contradictions, presented as truths, are designed to rattle and rewire our brains; just think how easily a corrupt authoritarian leader could put them to use, and how readily a not-thinking public could fall right in line.
    Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 20 May 2025

Cite this Entry

“Work.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/work. Accessed 23 May. 2025.

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