variants
or wrought
1
as in did
to be the cause of (a situation, action, or state of mind)
this new drug can really work wonders
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in solved
to find an answer for through reasoning
finally figured out how to work the math problem
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in served
to have a certain purpose
the human kidneys work as a filtering system for the blood
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
5
as in drove
to set or keep in motion
this pump is worked by hand
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
7
as in struggled
to devote serious and sustained effort
the organization has worked for years to raise people's awareness of human rights issues
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
8
as in exploited
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 worked
Her dad worked for an automotive firm, while her mom worked for the local police department.
—
NPR, 21 Oct. 2025
The Knicks fired head coach Tom Thibodeau over the summer, replacing him with Mike Brown, who should be able to spruce up the team's offense while preserving the Thibodeau-era elements that worked.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
Government employees who have worked without a paycheck are growing desperate.
—Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2025
In March 2018, L’Oréal and Armani renewed that license until 2025, after having worked together since 1988.
—Footwear News, 21 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for worked
NPR, 21 Oct. 2025
The Knicks fired head coach Tom Thibodeau over the summer, replacing him with Mike Brown, who should be able to spruce up the team's offense while preserving the Thibodeau-era elements that worked.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
Government employees who have worked without a paycheck are growing desperate.
—Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2025
In March 2018, L’Oréal and Armani renewed that license until 2025, after having worked together since 1988.
—Footwear News, 21 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for worked
Recent Examples of Synonyms for worked
Verb
-
Johnson’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday, nor did HUD officials.—
Lizzie Kane,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Aug. 2025
-
The two men then said Smollett paid them to stage the attack, and Smollett was charged with filing a false police report; the charges were later dropped after Smollett paid a fine and did community service.—
Rick Porter,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
His 2005 report was a stunning breakthrough that solved a five-hundred-year-old mystery, but his insights had originated in the laboratory.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Oct. 2025
-
The Auburn team solved this problem by depositing their materials directly onto solid surfaces, which improved both stability and scalability.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Alex Thomas has served as the Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette since November 2022.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
29 Oct. 2025
-
The clips allegedly showed Hanson urinating on food, spitting into containers, stomping on food items and rubbing them on his body before they were served to customers, per court documents and reporting by KCTV5, KMBC 9 and The Kansas City Star.—
Christina Coulter,
PEOPLE,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Season 34's core panel of judges all agreed that Earle performed exceptionally.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Oct. 2025
-
In fact, all of the tasks Neo performed in a test run with a reporter from the Wall Street Journal weren’t done autonomously.—
Lily Mae Lazarus,
Fortune,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
However, Paul drove to a bar and took shots with Connor, according to surveillance video from the bar obtained by Greenville News.—
Caroline Blair,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
-
The Martinezes drove up from Miami to welcome their new baby to the family.—
Howard Cohen,
Miami Herald,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The mice will be used in experiments on reproduction in low Earth orbit.—
Reuters,
CNN Money,
1 Nov. 2025
-
Rare earths are something that China used some years ago in a spat with Japan.—
Kerry Brown,
Time,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Her sister struggled for years with substance use, leading their mother to assume custody of her sister's two children.—
Victoria Moorwood,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
26 Oct. 2025
-
After an effort to create a Falls of the Ohio national park fell short in 1967, Kentucky and Indiana officials struggled to stop the falls from becoming a garbage dump.—
Leo Bertucci,
Louisville Courier Journal,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Barcelona used a mix of zonal and man-marking but struggled when teams exploited their comparalative lack of height and physicality by using players in motion.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
-
Inter-agent trust — the tendency for an AI agent to trust other AI agents by default — can also be exploited to get around the guardrails built into popular systems.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Worked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/worked. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share