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. [any activity performed in return for payment]

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

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 occupation for which you are paid; "he is looking for employment"; "a lot of people are out of work"

n. the total output of a writer or artist (or a substantial part of it); "he studied the entire Wagnerian oeuvre"; "Picasso's work can be divided into periods"

v. provoke or excite; "The rock musician worked the crowd of young girls into a frenzy"

v. arrive at a certain condition through repeated motion; "The stitches of the hem worked loose after she wore the skirt many times"

v. move into or onto; "work the raisins into the dough"; "the student worked a few jokes into his presentation"; "work the body onto the flatbed truck"

v. make uniform; "knead dough"; "work the clay until it is soft"

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. 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. proceed along a path; "work one's way through the crowd"; "make one's way into the forest"

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

v. have and exert influence or effect; "The artist's work influenced the young painter"; "She worked on her friends to support the political candidate"

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

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. 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. 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"

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. give a workout to; "Some parents exercise their infants"; "My personal trainer works me hard"; "work one's muscles"; "this puzzle will exercise your mind"

v. to exert strenuous effort against opposition; "he struggled to get free from the rope"

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. undergo the efforts of childbirth

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. support or hold in a certain manner; "She holds her head high"; "He carried himself upright"

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"; "The children perished in the fire"; "The patient went peacefully"; "The old guy kicked the bucket at the age of 102"

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. cause to undergo fermentation; "We ferment the grapes for a very long time to achieve high alcohol content"; "The vintner worked the wine in big oak vats"

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. influence in an unfair way; "you are biasing my choice by telling me yours"

v. cause to be biased

v. have a tendency or disposition to do or be something; be inclined; "She tends to be nervous before her lectures"; "These dresses run small"; "He inclined to corpulence"

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 into or onto; "work the raisins into the dough"; "the student worked a few jokes into his presentation"; "work the body onto the flatbed truck"

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. engage in or perform; "practice safe sex"; "commit a random act of kindness"

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. 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. behave in a certain way towards others; "He deals fairly with his employees"

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. support or hold in a certain manner; "She holds her head high"; "He carried himself upright"

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

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

v. comprehend; "I sensed the real meaning of his letter"

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

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. be engaged in an activity, often for no particular purpose other than pleasure

v. cause to move into the opposite direction; "they brought about the boat when they saw a storm approaching"

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

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 a success; "The idea panned out"

v. take account of; "You have to reckon with our opponents"; "Count on the monsoon"

v. be uncertain about; think about without fully understanding or being able to decide; "We puzzled over her sudden departure"

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. a method of solving simultaneous equations by guessing a solution and then reducing the errors that result by successive approximations until all the errors are less than some specified amount

v. shoot or hit in a particular manner; "She played a good backhand last night"

v. play around with or alter or falsify, usually secretively or dishonestly; "Someone tampered with the documents on my desk"; "The reporter fiddle with the facts"

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"