work synonyms

work

n.

  1. Something to be done

    commitment, task, obligation; see job 2.

  2. The doing of work, sense 1

    performance, endeavor, employment, production, occupation, profession, vocation, calling, practice, activity, manufacture, industry, operation, transaction, toil, labor, exertion, drudgery, functioning, stress, struggle, slavery, trial, push, attempt, effort, pains, elbow grease*, muscle*. *

  3. The result of labor; often plural

    composition, feat, accomplishment, output, product, deed, act, finished article, achievement, end product, opus, opera; see also drama 1, literature 1, movie, music 1, picture 3.

  4. Occupation

    profession, craft, business; see job 1, trade 2.

at work

working, on the job, engaged; see employed.

give someone the works*

shoot, slaughter, murder; see kill 1.

in the works*

prepared for, budgeted, in process, approved; see planned, ready 2.

make short<strong> or </strong>quick work of*

finish off, deal with, dispose of; see prevent, stop 1.

off work

not at work, off duty, not on duty, gone, gone home, out of work; see also unemployed.

out of work

not hired, dismissed, looking for a job, redundant (British); see unemployed.

shoot the works*

risk everything, gamble, everything, go the limit, attempt; risk, tryrisk, try 1.

work

v.

  1. To labor

    toil, slave, sweat, do a day's work, do the chores, exert oneself, apply oneself, do one's best, overexert, overwork, overstrain, get to work, work overtime, work day and night, work early and late, work one's way up, fight one's way up, tax one's energies, pull, plod, tug, chore, struggle, strive, carry on, do the job*, punch a time clock*, put in time*, pour it on*, not spare the horses*, work one's fingers to the bone*, buckle down*, bear down*, work like a horse, work like a dog, work like a slave*, keep at it*, stay with it*, put one's shoulder to the wheel*, burn the candle at both ends*, burn the midnight oil*; see also fight 1.

  2. To be employed

    earn one's living, earn a living, have a job, hold a position, occupy a post, report for work, be off the dole, be off the welfare rolls, be among the gainfully employed, be on the job, do time*, do one's stint*, be working on the railroad*, be a wage slave*.

  3. To function

    go, run, serve; see act 1, operate 2.

  4. To handle successfully

    control, accomplish, manage; see achieve 1, operate 3.

  5. To fashion

    give form to, sculpture, mold; see form 1.

  6. To ferment

    sour, ripen, become worky; see ferment.

Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.