good works

good works idiom
Acts of charity, kindness, or good will, as in She spent much of her life in doing good works, especially for the homeless. This expression, also put as good work, originally had the theological meaning of an act of piety. Today it is used in a more general context. [c. a.d. 1000]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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