works 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of work
1
as in causes
to be the cause of (a situation, action, or state of mind) this new drug can really work wonders

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Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in solves
to find an answer for through reasoning finally figured out how to work the math problem

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3
as in serves
to have a certain purpose the human kidneys work as a filtering system for the blood

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in moves
to set or keep in motion this pump is worked by hand

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in uses
to control the mechanical operation of show me how to work the machine

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7
as in struggles
to devote serious and sustained effort the organization has worked for years to raise people's awareness of human rights issues

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
8
as in exploits
to take unfair advantage of a young boy who worked his aunt for all she was worth in toys and candy when she visited once a year

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works

2 of 2

noun

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

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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 works
Verb
Mansur lives in poverty with his sister, mother, and aunt, Schaesta Ama, and works as a day laborer. — Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026 Heads in the Sky works with studios to mount elaborate drone shows, like the Masters of the Universe display that placed Skeletor hundreds of feet above Los Angeles, breaking a world record for brightness in the process. — Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 11 Sep. 2026 Ah Biao, who was born in Shanxi, China, and is now based in Bangkok, works as a director, screenwriter and cinematographer. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026 Best Under $30 Closer in scale to a drawer pull than a coat hanger, this decorative wall hook works best for lightweight items like jewelry, keys, and bags with shorter straps. — Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 11 Sep. 2026 The festival also serves as a platform for Latino artists and community organizations and works with groups including the Hispanic Development Fund and LULAC to support educational opportunities. — Kansas City Star, 11 Sep. 2026 As the team works within it and the clothes move through the space, the store becomes a backdrop that is never quite fixed, but continually responding to the world being built around it. — Michael Anthony Hall, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026 Not everything works, notably the rarefied nature of the score, which at time sounds like Rufus Norris’ quirky verbatim musical London Road (2015). — Damon Wise, Deadline, 11 Sep. 2026 How an extended car warranty works An extended car warranty is a service contract that covers major mechanical repairs after your manufacturer’s warranty ends. — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 11 Sep. 2026
Noun
That went up to over 62,000 in March of this year, still a long way below the 105,000 the ground will welcome when works are finally complete — which Barca now hope will be in 2028. — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026 The island also has over 80 private art galleries and plays host to several festivals, including the Thessaloniki Film Festival, which showcases works from emerging talents. — Jennifer Tzeses, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Sep. 2026 Liu’s other works include The Grace of Kings, The Wall of Storms, The Veiled Throne, a second collection The Hidden Girl and Other Stories, and the forthcoming Julia Z series. — Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2026 But no one will rank Kornél Mundruczó’s tender late-life drama, written by creative and life partner Kata Wéber, among the highest ranks of Burstyn’s most hallowed works. — Marshall Shaffer, IndieWire, 9 Sep. 2026 His works often explore the relationship between function and visual storytelling, transforming everyday tools into objects with strong mechanical identity. — New Atlas, 9 Sep. 2026 About 1,300 pieces from a collection of more than 40,000 works are currently on display in exhibitions that have been curated largely by Lucas himself. — Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026 The task now is less about proving the model works and more about extending it, taking a business that was largely built in the United States and giving it room to grow. — K.h. Koehler, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2026 Here’s why roasting works so well, and eight vegetables that benefit from this cooking method. — Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 9 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for works
  1. causes
  2. solves
  3. serves
  4. operates
  5. moves
  6. uses
  7. struggles
  8. exploits
Verb
  • At night, the fibromyalgia causes Lukas to wake up crying from muscle aches.
    — Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Postmortem studies have shown that Huntington’s causes a specific type of striatal neurons—the cells that send signals around the brain and nervous system—to be lost.
    — Claudia Metzler-Baddeley, Scientific American, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of causes
Verb
  • View gallery - 4 images Draco, DwarfLab's new smart telescope, solves deep-sky astrophotography's oldest headache with a sensor that physically spins to cancel out star trails caused by Earth's rotation.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Speeding up experimental work This assembly line setup solves a major engineering limitation in fusion research.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of solves
Verb
  • Reportedly, the artificial intelligence serves as both the observational eyes and the active navigator throughout the procedure by establishing a continuous feedback loop between real-time ultrasound image processing and physical surgical control.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Le Drian, who is seventy-nine years old and currently serves as France’s special envoy to Lebanon, has worked in the Middle East for nearly two decades.
    — Ruby Tandoh, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of serves
Verb
  • Reportedly, this system operates through a two-way connection, linking real-time image recognition directly with surgical manipulation.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 7 Sep. 2026
  • SpaceX already operates its Starbase spaceport in rural Texas, as well as launchpads at government spaceports on the coasts of California and Florida.
    — Elizabeth Howell, Scientific American, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of operates
Verb
  • Colorado moves way up to one spot ahead of Georgia Tech after blocking the final field goal for the road win over the Yellow Jackets.
    — Chris Vannini, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Buoyed by her leadership of the multi-billion-dollar expansion project last decade, Espino moves up from deputy administrator to take full command of the canal.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of moves
Verb
  • Thankfully, the bathroom lines at Venice intermissions are not too long, as 70 percent of the audience uses the opportunity to duck out and have a smoke.
    — Nate Jones, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2026
  • It’s powered by a lithium-ion battery and uses two drive motors and a pair of bulldozer-style treads to navigate the floor, walls, and waterline of your pool.
    — John R. Delaney, PC Magazine, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of uses
Verb
  • But that feels very different after Brown’s injury and Doubs’ struggles in his debut.
    — Chad Graff, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The move was sure to spark criticism that the president was paying Americans to vote Republican as the party struggles to match Democrats’ enthusiasm and faces a challenging midterm outlook.
    — Joey Garrison, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of struggles
Verb
  • At each turn, a heartbreaking picture comes into sharper focus, underscoring Ricki’s destructive appetite that exploits Rita’s deepest needs and fears under the guise of friendship and no-judgement sisterhood.
    — Tomris Laffly, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
  • One method exploits the weaknesses of a game’s random number generator (RNG) to obtain specific Pokémon; it’s appropriately known as RNG manipulation.
    — Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of exploits

Browse Nearby Words

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works
works (at)
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Cite this Entry

“Works.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/works. Accessed 14 Sep. 2026.

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