n. 25B6; noun
a day's work in the fields : LABOUR, toil, slog, drudgery, exertion, effort, industry, service; informal grind, sweat, elbow grease; Brit. informal graft, fag; Austral./NZ informal yakka; poetic/literary travail.
I'm looking for work : EMPLOYMENT, a job, a post, a position, a situation; occupation, profession, career, vocation, calling.
haven't you got any work? : TASKS, jobs, duties, assignments, projects; chores.
works of literature : COMPOSITION, piece, creation; opus, oeuvre.
this is the work of a radical faction : HANDIWORK, doing, act, deed.
a lifetime spent doing good works : DEEDS, acts, actions.
the complete works of Shakespeare : WRITINGS, oeuvre, canon, output.
a car works : FACTORY, plant, mill, foundry, yard, workshop, shop.
the works of a clock : MECHANISM, machinery, workings, parts, movement, action; informal insides.
(informal) for only $60 you can get the works : EVERYTHING, the full treatment; informal the lot, the whole shebang, the full nine yards; Brit. informal the full monty.
leisure.
25B6; verb
staff worked late into the night : TOIL, labour, exert oneself, slave (away); keep at it, keep one's nose to the grindstone; informal slog (away), beaver away, plug away, put one's back into it, knock oneself out, sweat blood; Brit. informal graft, fag; poetic/literary travail.
he worked in education for years : BE EMPLOYED, have a job, earn one's living, do business.
farmers worked the land : CULTIVATE, farm, till, plough.
his car was working perfectly : FUNCTION, go, run, operate; informal behave.
how do I work this machine? : OPERATE, use, handle, control, manipulate, run.
their ploy worked : SUCCEED, work out, turn out well, go as planned, get results, be effective; informal come off, pay off, do the trick; N. Amer. informal turn the trick.
blusher can work miracles : BRING ABOUT, accomplish, achieve, produce, perform, create, engender, contrive, effect.
(informal) the chairman was prepared to work it for Phil : ARRANGE, manipulate, contrive; pull strings; N. Amer. pull wires; informal fix, swing, wangle.
he worked the crowd into a frenzy : STIR (UP), excite, drive, move, rouse, fire, galvanize; whip up, agitate.
work the mixture into a paste : KNEAD, squeeze, form; mix, stir, blend.
he worked the blade into the padlock : MANOEUVRE, manipulate, guide, edge.
her mouth worked furiously : TWITCH, quiver, convulse.
he worked his way through the crowd : MANOEUVRE, make, thread, wind, weave, wend.
rest, fail.
25A0; work on someone PERSUADE, manipulate, influence; coax, cajole, wheedle, soften up; informal twist someone's arm, lean on.
25A0; work out
the bill works out at £50 : AMOUNT TO, add up to, come to, total; Brit. tot up to.
my idea worked out. : See work verb sense 6.
things didn't work out the way she planned : END UP, turn out, go, come out, develop; happen, occur; informal pan out.
he works out at the local gym : EXERCISE, train.
25A0; work something out
work out what you can afford : CALCULATE, compute, reckon up, determine.
I'm trying to work out what she meant : UNDERSTAND, comprehend, puzzle out, sort out, make sense of, get to the bottom of, make head or tail of, unravel, decipher, decode; informal figure out; Brit. informal suss out.
they worked out a plan : DEVISE, formulate, draw up, put together, develop, construct, arrange, organize, contrive, concoct; hammer out, negotiate.
25A0; work something up STIMULATE, rouse, raise, arouse, awaken, excite.