n. activity directed toward making or doing something; "she checked several points needing further work"

n. (physics) a manifestation of energy; the transfer of energy from one physical system to another expressed as the product of a force and the distance through which it moves a body in the direction of that force; "work equals force times distance"

n. a place where work is done; "he arrived at work early today"

n. a product produced or accomplished through the effort or activity or agency of a person or thing; "it is not regarded as one of his more memorable works"; "the symphony was hailed as an ingenious work"; "he was indebted to the pioneering work of John Dewey"; "the work of an active imagination"; "erosion is the work of wind or water over time"

n. applying the mind to learning and understanding a subject (especially by reading); "mastering a second language requires a lot of work"; "no schools offer graduate study in interior design"

n. the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money; "he's not in my line of business"

v. proceed towards a goal or along a path or through an activity; "work your way through every problem or task"; "She was working on her second martini when the guests arrived"; "Start from the bottom and work towards the top"

v. operate in a certain place, area, or specialty; "She works the night clubs"; "The salesman works the Midwest"; "This artist works mostly in acrylics"

v. give a workout to; "Some parents exercise their infants"; "My personal trainer works me hard"; "work one's muscles"

v. happen; "What is going on in the minds of the people?"

v. move in an agitated manner; "His fingers worked with tension"

v. cause to work; "he is working his servants hard"

v. be employed; "Is your husband working again?"; "My wife never worked"; "Do you want to work after the age of 60?"; "She never did any work because she inherited a lot of money"; "She works as a waitress to put herself through college"

v. exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity; "I will work hard to improve my grades"; "she worked hard for better living conditions for the poor"

v. have an effect or outcome; often the one desired or expected; "The voting process doesn't work as well as people thought"; "How does your idea work in practice?"; "This method doesn't work"; "The breaks of my new car act quickly"; "The medicine works only if you take it with a lot of water"

v. as of dough or clay

v. cause to happen or to occur as a consequence; "I cannot work a miracle"; "wreak havoc"; "bring comments"; "play a joke"; "The rain brought relief to the drought-stricken area"

v. shape, form, or improve a material; "work stone into tools"; "process iron"; "work the metal"

v. prepare for crops; "Work the soil"; "cultivate the land"

v. exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity; "I will work hard to improve my grades"; "she worked hard for better living conditions for the poor"

v. go across or through; "We passed the point where the police car had parked"; "A terrible thought went through his mind"

v. find the solution to (a problem or question) or understand the meaning of; "did you solve the problem?"; "Work out your problems with the boss"; "this unpleasant situation isn't going to work itself out"; "did you get it?"; "Did you get my meaning?"; "He could not work the math problem"

v. perform as expected when applied; "The washing machine won't go unless it's plugged in"; "Does this old car still run well?"; "This old radio doesn't work anymore"

v. deal with verbally or in some form of artistic expression; "This book deals with incest"; "The course covered all of Western Civilization"; "The new book treats the history of China"

adv. "The team played hard"

adv. "Prejudices die hard"

adv. indulging excessively; "he drank heavily"

adv. "hard left"

adv. causing great damage or hardship; "industries hit hard by the depression"; "she was severely affected by the bank's failure"

adj. resisting weight or pressure

adj. dispassionate; "took a hard look"; "a hard bargainer";

adj. (of speech sounds); produced with the back of the tongue raised toward or touching the velum; "Russian distinguished between hard consonants and palatalized or soft consonants"

adj. not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure; "a difficult task"; "nesting places on the cliffs are difficult of access"; "difficult times"; "a difficult child"; "found himself in a difficult situation"; "why is it so hard for you to keep a secret?"

adj. dried out; "hard dry rolls left over from the day before"

adj. unfortunate or hard to bear; "had hard luck"; "a tough break"

adj. being distilled rather than fermented; having a high alcoholic content; "hard liquor"

adj. formed by the coalescence of particles

adj. given to excessive indulgence of bodily appetites especially for intoxicating liquors; "a hard drinker"

adj. very strong or vigorous; "strong winds"; "a hard left to the chin"; "a knockout punch"; "a severe blow"

adj. characterized by toilsome effort to the point of exhaustion; especially physical effort; "worked their arduous way up the mining valley"; "a grueling campaign"; "hard labor"; "heavy work"; "heavy going"; "spent many laborious hours on the project"; "set a punishing pace"

n. use of physical or mental energy; hard work; "he got an A for effort"; "they managed only with great exertion"

n. the people or companies engaged in a particular kind of commercial enterprise; "each industry has its own trade publications"

n. a musical work that has been created; "the composition is written in four movements"

n. a body of people doing the same kind of work

v. to move in a twisting or contorted motion, (especially when struggling); "The prisoner writhed in discomfort"; "The child tried to wriggle free from his aunt's embrace"

v. move in an agitated manner; "His fingers worked with tension"

v. to move in a twisting or contorted motion, (especially when struggling); "The prisoner writhed in discomfort"; "The child tried to wriggle free from his aunt's embrace"

v. give a workout to; "Some parents exercise their infants"; "My personal trainer works me hard"; "work one's muscles"

v. make a strenuous or labored effort; "She struggled for years to survive without welfare"; "He fought for breath"

v. attempt by employing effort; "we endeavor to make our customers happy"

v. to exert much effort or energy; "straining our ears to hear"

v. work hard; "She was digging away at her math homework"; "Lexicographers drudge all day long"

v. have a celebration; "They were feting the patriarch of the family"; "After the exam, the students were celebrating"

v. behave well or properly; "The children must learn to behave"

v. perform a function; "Who will perform the wedding?"

v. perform as expected when applied; "The washing machine won't go unless it's plugged in"; "Does this old car still run well?"; "This old radio doesn't work anymore"

v. behave in a certain manner; "She carried herself well"; "he bore himself with dignity"; "They conducted themselves well during these difficult times"

v. take the lead or initiative in; participate in the development of; "This South African surgeon pioneered heart transplants"

v. impose something unpleasant; "The principal visited his rage on the students"

v. perform an act, usually with a negative connotation; "perpetrate a crime"; "pull a bank robbery"

v. act out; represent or perform as if in a play; "She reenacted what had happened earlier that day"

v. put to use; "exert one's power or influence"

v. make loose or looser; "loosen the tension on a rope"

v. to break and turn over earth especially with a plow; "Farmer Jones plowed his east field last week"; "turn the earth in the Spring"

v. prepare for crops; "Work the soil"; "cultivate the land"

v. make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc; "Get the children ready for school!"; "prepare for war"; "I was fixing to leave town after I paid the hotel bill"

v. reduce to a fine, unmixed, or pure state; separate from extraneous matter or cleanse from impurities; "refine sugar"

v. to break and turn over earth especially with a plow; "Farmer Jones plowed his east field last week"; "turn the earth in the Spring"

v. shape, form, or improve a material; "work stone into tools"; "process iron"; "work the metal"

v. take on a certain form, attribute, or aspect; "His voice took on a sad tone"; "The story took a new turn"; "he adopted an air of superiority"; "She assumed strange manners"; "The gods assume human or animal form in these fables"

v. cause to grow and differentiate in ways conforming to its natural development; "The perfect climate here develops the grain"; "He developed a new kind of apple"

v. make visible by means of chemical solutions; "Please develop this roll of film for me"

v. raise from a barbaric to a civilized state; "The wild child found wandering in the forest was gradually civilized"

v. give suck to; "The wetnurse suckled the infant"; "You cannot nurse your baby in public in some places"

v. pass by; "three years elapsed"

v. pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life; "She died from cancer"; "They children perished in the fire"; "The patient went peacefully"; "The old guy kicked the bucket at the age of 102"

v. read with difficulty; "Can you decipher this letter?"; "The archeologist traced the hieroglyphs"

v. to become aware of through the senses; "I could perceive the ship coming over the horizon"

v. make free from confusion or ambiguity; make clear; "Could you clarify these remarks?"; "Clear up the question of who is at fault"

v. behave well or properly; "The children must learn to behave"

v. be in charge of or deal with; "She takes care of all the necessary arrangements"

v. come to terms or deal successfully with; "We got by on just a gallon of gas"; "They made do on half a loaf of bread every day"

v. have an effect or outcome; often the one desired or expected; "The voting process doesn't work as well as people thought"; "How does your idea work in practice?"; "This method doesn't work"; "The breaks of my new car act quickly"; "The medicine works only if you take it with a lot of water"

v. behave in a certain manner; "She carried herself well"; "he bore himself with dignity"; "They conducted themselves well during these difficult times"

v. perform a function; "Who will perform the wedding?"

v. speak with others about (something); talk (something) over in detail; have a discussion; "We discussed our household budget"

v. to make the subject of dispute, contention, or litigation; "They contested the outcome of the race"

v. think about carefully; weigh; "They considered the possibility of a strike"; "Turn the proposal over in your mind"

adj. devoid of feeling for others; "an unfeeling wretch"

adj. difficult to analyze or understand; "a complicated problem"; "complicated Middle East politics"

adj. requiring precise accuracy; "an exacting job"; "became more exigent over his pronunciation"

adj. not forbearing; ruthless; "an unsparing critic"

adj. highly complex or intricate; "the Byzantine tax structure"; "convoluted legal language"; "convoluted reasoning"; "the plot was too involved"; "a knotty problem"; "got his way by labyrinthine maneuvering"; "Oh, what a tangled web we weave"- Sir Walter Scott; "tortuous legal procedures"; "tortuous negotiations lasting for months"

adj. marked by complexity and richness of detail; "an elaborate lace pattern"

adj. habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition

adj. characterized by toilsome effort to the point of exhaustion; especially physical effort; "worked their arduous way up the mining valley"; "a grueling campaign"; "hard labor"; "heavy work"; "heavy going"; "spent many laborious hours on the project"; "set a punishing pace"

adj. not suited to your comfort, purpose or needs; "it is inconvenient not to have a telephone in the kitchen"; "the back hall is an inconvenient place for the telephone"

adj. lacking clarity of meaning; causing confusion or perplexity; "sent confusing signals to Iraq"; "perplexing to someone who knew nothing about it"; "a puzzling statement"

adj. marked by a disposition to oppose and contradict; "took perverse satisfaction in foiling her plans"

adj. sturdy and strong in constitution or construction; enduring; "a rugged trapper who spent months in the wilderness"; "those that survive are stalwart rugged men"; "with a house full of boys you have to have rugged furniture"

adj. very strong or vigorous; "strong winds"; "a hard left to the chin"; "a knockout punch"; "a severe blow"

adj. formed by the coalescence of particles

adj. unfortunate or hard to bear; "had hard luck"; "a tough break"

adj. in an extreme degree; "intense heat"; "intense anxiety"; "intense desire"; "intense emotion"; "the skunk's intense acrid odor"; "intense pain"; "enemy fire was intense"

adj. sturdy and strong in constitution or construction; enduring; "a rugged trapper who spent months in the wilderness"; "those that survive are stalwart rugged men"; "with a house full of boys you have to have rugged furniture"

adj. possessing the tone and resiliency of healthy tissue; "firm muscles"

adj. in an extreme degree; "intense heat"; "intense anxiety"; "intense desire"; "intense emotion"; "the skunk's intense acrid odor"; "intense pain"; "enemy fire was intense"

adj. not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure; "a difficult task"; "nesting places on the cliffs are difficult of access"; "difficult times"; "a difficult child"; "found himself in a difficult situation"; "why is it so hard for you to keep a secret?"

adj. requiring full use of your abilities or resources; "ambitious schedule"; "performed the most challenging task without a mistake"

adj. not easily borne; wearing; "the burdensome task of preparing the income tax return"; "my duties weren't onerous; I only had to greet the guests"; "a taxing schedule"

adj. not forbearing; ruthless; "an unsparing critic"

adj. not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure; "a difficult task"; "nesting places on the cliffs are difficult of access"; "difficult times"; "a difficult child"; "found himself in a difficult situation"; "why is it so hard for you to keep a secret?"

adj. impressively difficult; "a tall order"

adj. so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness; "a boring evening with uninteresting people"; "the deadening effect of some routine tasks"; "a dull play"; "his competent but dull performance"; "a ho-hum speaker who couldn't capture their attention"; "what an irksome task the writing of long letters is"- Edmund Burke; "tedious days on the train"; "the tiresome chirping of a cricket"- Mark Twain; "other people's dreams are dreadfully wearisome"

adj. full of hardship or trials; "the rocky road to success"; "they were having a rough time"

adj. hard to manage; inclined to make trouble: "a difficult child"

adj. causing irritation or annoyance; "tapping an annoying rhythm on his glass with his fork"; "aircraft noise is particularly bothersome near the airport"; "found it galling to have to ask permission"; "an irritating delay"; "nettlesome paperwork"; "a pesky mosquito"; "swarms of pestering gnats"; "a plaguey newfangled safety catch"; "a teasing and persistent thought annoyed him"; "a vexatious child"; "it is vexing to have to admit you are wrong"

adj. causing vexation or worry: "trying times"; "serious problems"

adj. disagreeable to the senses; "the harsh cry of a blue jay"; "harsh cognac"; "the harsh white light makes you screw up your eyes"; "harsh irritating smoke filled the hallway"

adj. (of weapons or instruments) causing suffering and pain; "brutal instruments of torture"; "cruel weapons of war"

adj. severely simple; "a stark interior"

adj. unsparing and uncompromising in discipline or judgment; "a parent severe to the pitch of hostility"- H.G.Wells; "a hefty six-footer with a rather severe mien"; "a strict disciplinarian"; "a Spartan upbringing"

adv. with resolute determination; "we firmly believed it"; "you must stand firm"

adv. in a rich manner; "he lives high"

v. plan, organize, and carry out (an event); "the neighboring tribe staged an invasion"

v. produce; "The scientists set up a shock wave"

v. cause to arise; "induce a crisis"

v. cause to happen, occur or exist; "This procedure produces a curious effect"; "The new law gave rise to many complaints"; "These chemicals produce a noxious vapor"; "the new President must bring about a change in the health care system"

v. summon into action or bring into existence, often as if by magic; "raise the specter of unemployment"; "he conjured wild birds in the air"; "call down the spirits from the mountain"

v. be successful; achieve a goal; "She succeeded in persuading us all"; "I managed to carry the box upstairs"; "She pulled it off, even though we never thought her capable of it"; "The pianist negociated the difficult runs"

v. summon into action or bring into existence, often as if by magic; "raise the specter of unemployment"; "he conjured wild birds in the air"; "call down the spirits from the mountain"

v. bypass; "He skipped a row in the text and so the sentence was incomprehensible"

v. pass by, over, or under without making contact; "the balloon cleared the tree tops"

v. make a mathematical calculation or computation

v. be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly; "These questions confuse even the experts"; "This question completely threw me"; "This question befuddled even the teacher"

v. be a success; "The idea panned out"

adj. of definite shape and volume; firm; neither liquid nor gaseous; "ice is water in the solid state"

adj. not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure; "a difficult task"; "nesting places on the cliffs are difficult of access"; "difficult times"; "a difficult child"; "found himself in a difficult situation"; "why is it so hard for you to keep a secret?"

adj. deficient in human sensibility; not mentally or morally sensitive; "insensitive to the needs of the patients"

adj. having or showing no mercy; "the merciless enemy"; "a merciless critic"; "gave him a merciless beating"

adj. not given to gentleness or sentimentality; "a tough character"

adj. complicated in structure; consisting of interconnected parts; "a complex set of variations based on a simple folk melody"; "a complex mass of diverse laws and customs"

adj. requiring more than usually expected or thought due; especially great patience and effort and skill; "found the job very demanding"; "a baby can be so demanding"

adj. requiring great physical effort

adj. dispassionate; "took a hard look"; "a hard bargainer";

adj. (of eggs) no longer edible; "an addled egg"

adj. (of foodstuffs) not in an edible or usable condition; "bad meat"; "a refrigerator full of spoilt food"

adj. touched by rot or decay; "tainted bacon"; "`corrupt' is archaic"

adj. having lost freshness through passage of time; "a cold trail"; "dogs attempting to catch a cold scent"

adj. becoming putrid; "a trail lined by putrescent carcasses"

adj. spoiled and covered with eggs and larvae of flies; "flyblown meat"; "a sack of maggoty apricots"

adj. not firm; "wilted lettuce"

adj. covered with or smelling of mold; "moldy bread"; "a moldy (or musty) odor"

adj. (used of decomposing oils or fats) having a rank smell or taste usually due to a chemical change or decomposition; "rancid butter"; "rancid bacon"

adj. exceptionally bad or displeasing; "atrocious taste"; "abominable workmanship"; "an awful voice"; "dreadful manners"; "a painful performance"; "terrible handwriting"; "an unspeakable odor came sweeping into the room"

adj. badly behaved; "he was saucy and mischievous in school"; "a naughty boy"

adj. (of wine) tainted in flavor by a cork containing excess tannin; "a corked port"

adj. bad; unfortunate; "my finances were in a deplorable state"; "a lamentable decision"; "her clothes were in sad shape"; "a sorry state of affairs"

adj. very bad in degree or extent; "a severe worldwide depression"; "the house suffered severe damage"

adj. causing distress or worry or anxiety; "distressing (or disturbing) news"; "lived in heroic if something distressful isolation"; "a disturbing amount of crime"; "a revelation that was most perturbing"; "a new and troubling thought"; "in a particularly worrisome predicament"; "a worrying situation"; "a worrying time"

adj. (used ironically) unexpectedly bad; "a pretty mess"; "a pretty kettle of fish"

adj. exceedingly bad; "when she was bad she was horrid"

adj. not doing a good job; "incompetent at chess"

adj. having the quality of something harmful or unpleasant; "ran a negative campaign"; "delinquents retarded by their negative outlook on life"

adj. unsatisfactory; "a poor light for reading"; "poor morale"; "expectations were poor"

adj. severe; punishingly bad; "swingeing taxation"; "swingeing damages awarded by the judge"

adj. not capable of being collected; "a bad (or uncollectible) debt"

adj. not favorable; "made an unfavorable impression"; "unfavorable reviews"

adj. "the pay is unsatisfactory and the conditions are unacceptable"

adj. not conducive to good moral development; "the movie is unsuitable for children"

adj. able to intoxicate

adj. having alcohol added: "a cup of brandy-laced coffee"; "he drank too much of the spiked punch"

adj. containing or of the nature of alcohol; "spiritous beverages"; "spirituous liquors"

adj. changed into a solid mass

adj. congealed into jelly; solidified by cooling; "in Georgia they serve congealed salads"

adj. consisting of semiconductor materials and components and related devices

adj. characteristic of or relating to the physical properties of solid materials especially electromagnetic or thermodynamic or structural properties of crystalline solids

adj. not moderated or controlled; "his untempered individualism"

adj. made greater or stronger; "beefed-up sales efforts"

adj. (of a person) possessing physical strength and weight; rugged and powerful; "a hefty athlete"; "a muscular boxer"; "powerful arms"

adj. having a thick short powerful neck

adj. resembling a bullock in strength and power; "thick bullocky shoulders"

adj. devoting full strength and concentrated attention to; "made continued and determined efforts to find and destroy enemy headquarters"

adj. forceful and extreme and rigorous; "drastic measures"

adj. marked by the wearing of heavy boots studded with hobnails; "hobnailed laborers"

adj. exhibiting strength or hardness like that of iron; "ironlike determination"; "ironlike nerves"; "ironlike discipline of the Marines"

adj. strong enough to knock down or overwhelm; "a knock-down blow"

adj. readily noticed; "a noticeable resemblance"

adj. having a strong physiological or chemical effect; "a potent toxin"; "potent liquor"; "a potent cup of tea", "a stiff drink"

adj. given added strength or support; "reinforced concrete contains steel bars or metal netting"

adj. strong enough to withstand or overcome intellectual challenges or adversity; "the experiment yielded robust results"; "a robust faith"

adj. of good quality and condition; solidly built; "a solid foundation"; "several substantial timber buildings"

adj. strongly and firmly constructed; "a well-knit argument"; "a well-knit theatrical production"; "well-knit athletes"; "a sailor short but well-set"- Alexander Hamilton

adj. requiring much effort and trouble; "the mountain climb was long, steep, and difficult"

adj. producing exhaustion; "an exhausting march"; "the visit was especially wearing"

adj. requiring or showing effort; "heavy breathing"; "the subject made for labored reading"

adj. (of movement) slow and laborious; "leaden steps"

n. an activity that diverts or amuses or stimulates; "scuba diving is provided as a diversion for tourists"; "for recreation he wrote poetry and solved crossword puzzles"; "drug abuse is often regarded as a form of recreation"

n. (game) the activity of doing something in an agreed succession; "it is my turn"; "it is still my play"

n. freedom from activity (work or strain or responsibility); "took his repose by the swimming pool"

v. cause to move or operate freely within a bounded space; "The engine has a wheel that is playing in a rack"

v. manipulate manually or in one's mind or imagination; "She played nervously with her wedding ring"; "Don't fiddle with the screws"; "He played with the idea of running for the Senate"

v. be idle; exist in a changeless situation; "The old man sat and stagnated on his porch"; "He slugged in bed all morning"

v. be lazy or idle; "Her son is just bumming around all day"

v. pull back or move away or backward; "The enemy withdrew"; "The limo pulled away from the curb"

v. move or seem to move quickly, lightly, or irregularly; "The spotlights played on the politicians"

v. fail to function or function improperly; "the coffee maker malfunctioned"

adj. yielding readily to pressure or weight

adj. like down or as soft as down

adj. easily squashed; resembling a sponge in having soft porous texture and compressibility; "spongy bread"

adj. compassionate and kind; conciliatory; "he was soft on his children"

adj. (of speech sounds); produced with the back of the tongue raised toward the hard palate; characterized by a hissing or hushing sound (as `s' and `sh')

adj. posing no difficulty; requiring little effort; "an easy job"; "an easy problem"; "an easy victory"; "the house is easy to heat"; "satisfied with easy answers"; "took the easy way out of his dilemma"

adj. having few parts; not complex or complicated or involved; "a simple problem"; "simple mechanisms"; "a simple design"; "a simple substance"

adj. easy and not involved or complicated; "an elementary problem in statistics"; "elementary, my dear Watson"; "a simple game"; "found an uncomplicated solution to the problem"

adj. requiring or apparently requiring no effort; "the swallows glided in an effortless way through the busy air"

adj. arrived at without due care or effort; lacking depth; "too facile a solution for so complex a problem"

adj. performing adroitly and without effort; "a facile hand"

adj. affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings; "a pleasant person to be around"; "we had a pleasant evening together"; "a pleasant scene"; "pleasant sensations"

adj. compassionate and kind; conciliatory; "he was soft on his children"

adj. requiring or apparently requiring no effort; "the swallows glided in an effortless way through the busy air"

adv. indulging with temperance; "we eat lightly in the morning"