Idioms for work

Origin of work

before 900; (noun) Middle English worke, Old English worc, replacing Middle English werk(e), Old English weorc, cognate with Old Frisian, Old Saxon werk, Old High German werah, werc (German Werk), Old Norse verk, Greek érgon; (v.) Middle English worken, derivative of the noun, replacing Middle English wyrchen, Old English wyrcean; cognate with German wirken, Old Norse verkja, Gothic waurkjan

SYNONYMS FOR work

1 Work, drudgery, labor, toil refer to exertion of body or mind in performing or accomplishing something. Work is the general word and may apply to exertion that is either easy or hard: fun work; heavy work. Drudgery suggests continuous, dreary, and dispiriting work, especially of a menial or servile kind: the drudgery of household tasks. Labor particularly denotes hard manual work: labor on a farm, in a steel mill. Toil suggests wearying or exhausting labor: toil that breaks down the worker's health.
5 enterprise, project, job, responsibility.
2 industry, occupation, business.
3 job, trade, calling, vocation, profession.
7 product, achievement, feat.
16 toil, drudge.
28 operate, manipulate, handle.
29 accomplish, effect, produce, achieve.
34 finish, form, shape.
38 move.

OTHER WORDS FROM work

non·work, noun pre·work, verb, pre·worked or pre·wrought, pre·work·ing. pre·work, noun, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for the works

work
/ (wɜːk) /

noun

verb

Derived forms of work

workless, adjective worklessness, noun

Word Origin for work

Old English weorc (n), wircan, wyrcan (vb); related to Old High German wurchen, German wirken, Old Norse yrkja, Gothic waurkjan

Scientific definitions for the works

work
[ wûrk ]

The transfer of energy from one object to another, especially in order to make the second object move in a certain direction. Work is equal to the amount of force multiplied by the distance over which it is applied. If a force of 10 newtons, for example, is applied over a distance of 3 meters, the work is equal to 30 newtons per meter, or 30 joules. The unit for measuring work is the same as that for energy in any system of units, since work is simply a transfer of energy. Compare energy power.

Cultural definitions for the works

work

In physics, the product of a force applied, and the distance through which that force acts.

Idioms and Phrases with the works (1 of 2)

the works

1

Everything, the full range of possibilities, as in He ordered a pizza with the works, or All right, tell me, give me the works on it. This usage derives from works in the sense of “a complete set of parts for a machine or mechanism.” [Colloquial; late 1800s]

2

A beating or other severe treatment. This usage is often put as give someone the works, as in They took him outside and gave him the works. [Slang; first half of 1900s]

Idioms and Phrases with the works (2 of 2)

work