I. work ‧ ing 1 S2 W2 /ˈwɜːkɪŋ $ ˈwɜːr-/ BrE AmE adjective [only before noun]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ work , ↑ workaholic , ↑ worker , ↑ working , WORKINGS ; adjective : ↑ workable ≠ ↑ unworkable , ↑ overworked , ↑ working ; verb : ↑ work , ↑ rework ]
1 .
a) having a job that you are paid for ⇨ employed :
a working mother
Many working women rely on relatives for childcare.
A smaller working population will have to support a growing number of retired people.
b) old-fashioned having a physical or practical job
working man/people/folk
the ordinary working man
2 . working hours/day/week the time that people spend doing their job:
In a normal working day, I see around 6 or 7 clients.
during/outside working hours
Telephone at any time during normal working hours.
Many mothers prefer flexible working hours.
We do a 37-hour working week.
3 . working day a day of the week when most people work. In Britain and the US this is usually Monday to Friday SYN workday :
It will be returned within three working days (=three days, not including weekends or public holidays) .
4 . working conditions/environment etc the situation in which you work, especially the physical things such as pay or safety:
improvements in working conditions
5 . working practices/methods the way in which you do your job:
training in up-to-date working practices
6 . working life the part of your adult life when you have a paid job:
He spent all his working life in a factory.
7 . (in) working order working properly and not broken
be in good/perfect/full etc working order
The car was old, but the engine was still in good working order.
the amount of exercise needed to keep your body in working order
8 . working relationship the way that people work together
working relationship with/between
They want to establish a better working relationship between medical and nursing staff.
good/close/effective etc working relationship
We have a close working relationship with other voluntary groups.
9 . a working knowledge of something enough knowledge of a system, subject, language etc to be able to use it or to do a particular job:
A good working knowledge of the building regulations is necessary for the job.
10 . working clothes ( also work clothes ) clothes which you wear for work or are designed for people to work in
11 . working model a model that has parts that move
12 . working parts the parts of a machine that move
13 . working definition/theory/title a ↑ definition , idea etc that may not be exactly right but is good enough to use when you start working on something
14 . working majority British English enough support in parliament for a government to continue making laws and ruling a country
15 . working breakfast/lunch/dinner a breakfast, lunch etc which is also a business meeting
16 . working memory technical the part of a person’s or computer’s memory which stores information about the thing being worked on now
II. working 2 BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ work , ↑ workaholic , ↑ worker , ↑ working , WORKINGS ; adjective : ↑ workable ≠ ↑ unworkable , ↑ overworked , ↑ working ; verb : ↑ work , ↑ rework ]
1 . the workings [plural] the way something such as a system, piece of equipment, or organization works
the workings of
his knowledge of the inner workings of the department
I shall never understand the workings of his mind (=how he thinks) .
2 . flexible/short-time etc working a particular way of working, especially relating to the hours which someone works
3 . [countable usually plural] a mine or part of a mine where soil has been dug out in order to remove metals or stone ⇨ quarry