work

 noun
 
1
 effort/product of effort
ADJECTIVE
1. hardIt’s hard work trying to get him to do a few things for himself.It
doesn’t require skill—it’s a matter of sheer hard work.
2. arduous, back-breaking, challenging, complicated, demandin
g, difficult, gruelling/grueling, intensive, labour-intensive/labor-
intensive, tiring, toughThe show is the product of two years’ intensive work.
3. tirelessThrough their tireless work, they proved his innocence.
4. rewarding
5. heavyThey employ a couple of young men to do the heavy work.
6. donkey (British English, informal)I did the
donkey work (= hard workrequiring little skill) but I hired a professional for the
hard part.
7. grunt (North American English, informal)He has done the
grunt work (= the hard, boring part of a task), sifting through thousands of official
records.
8. lightShe’s only allowed to do a little light work because of her bad arm.
9. easy
10. closeI need to wear glasses for close work.
11. physical
12. delicate
13. dangerous
14. dirtyEngine maintenance is dirty work.The drugs gang used children to do
their dirty work for them. (figurative)
15. monotonous, repetitive, tedious
16. fascinating, interesting
17. purposefulMany unemployed people welcome the chance to do
purposeful work, even if unpaid.
18. valuableThe research institute needs funds in order to carry on its
valuable work.
19. professional
20. men’s, women’sThey think that caring for children is women’s work.
21. intellectual, mental
22. creative, imaginative
23. practical see also fieldwork, paperwork
24. detective, investigative
25. undercoverThe scandal was revealed after months of
undercover work by journalists.
26. leg usually legworkHer job as a market researcher involves a lot of
legwork (= walking around to collect information).
27. class, course usually coursework, school usually schoolworkSh
e was getting distracted from her schoolwork.
28. writtenHis written work is the best in the class.
29. individual
30. group
31. project
32. collaborative, jointclassroom activities involving
collaborative work between childrenThe report is the joint work of an economist
and a sociologist.
33. remedial, restorationThe poorly designed bridge needs
remedial work to make it safe.
34. background, preliminary, preparatory
35. follow-up
36. extraHe’s willing to do extra work to get the project finished on time.
37. honestHe preferred to make his money from honest work rather than
from gambling.
38. excellent, good, nice (informal), outstanding, sterling (especiall
y British English)Nice work, James! I’m impressed.In accepting the award, she
mentioned the sterling work of her assistants.
39. careful, meticulous, painstaking
40. poor, shoddy, sloppy
41. charitable, humanitarian
42. community, youth
43. missionary
44. groundbreaking, innovative, pioneeringHe did
pioneering work on microbes.
45. empirical, experimental
46. theoretical
47. academic, commercial, educational, environmental, scientifi
c
48. building, construction
49. cosmetic, dentalShe’s had a lot of dental work done.
50. your ownIs this all your own work (= did you do it without help from
others)?
… OF WORK
51. bit, pieceIt was an interesting piece of work.
VERB + WORK
52. carry out, do, put inAll the construction work was carried out in 2001.I
had lots of work to do.She’s put in a lot of work on the design.
53. get done, have doneI think I’d better try and get
some work done.We’re going to have some building work done on the house.
54. create, makeAll these visitors make a lot of work for me.
55. produceWork produced on a computer tends to look more professional.
56. get, haveWe get far too much work at this time of year.
57. take on, undertakeI’ve taken on more work than I have time to do.
58. begin, commence, get down to, set about, set to, startThey
began work on the project last year.Stop talking and get down to work.We set
to work on the outside of the house (= for example, painting it).
59. go aboutShe went cheerfully about her work.
60. carry on, continue, resume
61. complete, finish
62. halt, hold up, stopWork on the project was halted.
63. loseThey lost the work to a competitor.
64. undoThe new president spent the first year undoing the work of his
predecessor.
65. oversee, superviseThe assistant manager supervises work on the
factory floor.
66. check, inspect
67. admire, appreciate, valueI really appreciate all your hard work.
68. supportWe give grants to support the work of voluntary organizations.
69. set somebody toShe set them to work painting the fence.
70. requireTo carry out accurate market research requires a huge amount
of work.
71. hand in, submitWe’re supposed to hand in this work tomorrow.
WORK + VERB
72. comeThe work comes in bursts according to the time of year.
73. waitThat work can wait until tomorrow.
74. goHow’s the work going this morning?
75. involve somethingWhat does the work involve?
76. begin, start
77. continue, go on
78. come to a halt, grind to a haltWork came to a complete halt in the
summer.
79. costHow much will the work cost?
WORK + NOUN
80. ethic
81. rateHer boss told her she had to increase her work rate.
82. habitChildren can learn good work habits at school.
83. programme/program, schedule
84. crew (North American English)The construction company has
three work crews of five men each.
85. load usually workloadThe instructor’s work load was becoming
increasingly heavy.
86. flowHer job is to manage the company’s work flow.
87. surfaceWork surfaces should be left clear and clean.
PREPOSITION
88. at workHe’s been hard at work all morning.
89. work onI have to do some work on the car before it’ll be ready.
90. work withShe’s done a lot of work with disadvantaged children.
PHRASES
91. a backlog of workIt will take a month to clear the backlog of work.
92. keep up the good workThe hotel manager thanked the staff and told
them to keep up the good work.
93. your life’s workThe art collection was his life’s work.
94. make light work of something, make short work of
something (= to do something quickly and easily)Mike made short work of
fixing the engine.
95. not a stroke of work (especially British English)She never does a
stroke of work.
96. pressure of workPressure of work forced him to cancel the cruise.
97. work in progressThe showroom has been designed so that people can
see work in progress.
 See WORK (3), WORK (6), WORK (7) in the Oxford Advanced Learner's
Dictionary2
 job
ADJECTIVE
98. paid, unpaidShe is now looking for paid work outside the home.
99. lucrative, well-paid
100. badly paid
101. full-time, part-time
102. permanent
103. temporary
104. regular, steadyHe hasn’t been in regular work since he left school.
105. casualDuring the college vacations he does casual work in the local
hospital.
106. freelance
107. voluntary, volunteer
108. skilled
109. semi-skilled
110. unskilled
111. manual
112. indoor, outdoor
113. daily, day-to-day, everyday, routinePeople went about their
daily work despite the war.Ambulance crews alternate between emergency and
routine work.
114. pieceIt’s piece work, so how much you earn depends on how fast you
can work.
115. administrative, clerical, office, secretarial
116. managerial
117. domestic
118. social
119. research
120. agricultural, farm
121. building
122. nice (informal, humorous)A hundred grand for two days a week?
Nice work if you can get it!
VERB + WORK
123. haveHe has some freelance work at the moment.
124. look forHe got laid off, so now he’s looking for work again.
125. find, getFull-time work is hard to find.
126. go toI go to work by bus.
127. go out toSome mothers of young children choose not to go out to work.
128. start
129. finish, knock off (informal)What time do you finish work?
130. stopShe stops work at the end of this month.
131. give upJust before he was sixty, he decided to give up work.
132. go back to, return toShe has just returned to work after the birth of
her child.
133. allocate, give
134. outsource
135. coordinateSales reps meet up monthly to coordinate their work.
136. enjoy, loveI’m lucky—I love my work.
WORK + VERB
137. goWork’s going well at the moment.
138. startWhat time does work start in the morning?
139. finish
140. consist of something, include something, involve
somethingHer work consists of drawing up and coordinating schedules.
WORK + NOUN
141. day (especially North American
English), hours, week (especially North American English)Employees must not
make personal calls during work hours.
142. force usually workforce
143. place usually workplace
144. area, environment, room usually workroom
145. station usually workstation
146. boots (especially North American English), clothes
147. schedule
148. experienceThe opportunities will depend on your work experience.He’s
doing a month’s unpaid work experience with an engineering company. (British
English)
149. permit, visa
150. incentiveHigh income tax can undermine work incentives.
151. practiceAn independent report has described some work practices in the
industry as old-fashioned.
152. stoppage
PREPOSITION
153. at work‘Where’s Diane?’ ‘She’s at work.’We had a party at work.
154. in (your) workWith so much unemployment, I’m lucky to be
in work. (British English)It’s important to be happy in your work.
155. off work (especially British English)She’s been off work with a bad back
since July.
156. out of workHe’s been out of work since the factory closed.
157. through workI met him through work.
PHRASES
158. a line of work‘What line of work are you in?’ ‘Computing.’
159. a place of work
See WORK (1), WORK (2), WORK (5) in the Oxford Advanced Learner's
Dictionary3
 book/music/art
ADJECTIVE
160. classic, fine, great
161. definitive, seminalHer book is still considered the definitive work on
beetles.
162. best-known, well-known
163. important, influential
164. erudite, scholarly
165. ambitious
166. creative
167. literary
168. dramatic
169. critical
170. autobiographical, biographical
171. artistic
172. photographic
173. sculptural
174. art usually artworkThe artwork in the book is superb.
175. untitled
176. completed, finishedThe finished work will be on view in the city art
gallery.
177. unfinished
178. collaborative
179. solo
180. commissionedHe does mainly commissioned portrait works.
181. abstract, figurative, graphic
182. choral, orchestral
183. guitar, piano, etc.
184. collected, completethe collected works of Stephen King
185. early
186. late, maturePicasso’s mature works
187. latest, present, previous, recentThese paintings are more abstract
than her previous work.
188. copyrightedPeople are using file-sharing to steal copyrighted works.
189. publishedHer portfolio includes published works in several magazines.
190. derivative
191. original
… OF WORK
192. series
193. collection, exhibit (North American
English), exhibition (especially British English)The gallery is staging a special
exhibition of Monet’s early works.
VERB + WORK
194. compose, create, produce, writeBeethoven composed his
greatest works in the latter part of his life.
195. choreograph, conduct, translate
196. commission
197. perform, play
198. hear, read, seeHer work can be seen in most of the major European
galleries.
199. conduct, direct, edit, produce, publish, put onOver the next two
years, the company is putting on the complete works of Brecht.
200. display, exhibit, feature, show, showcaseThe town hall is
exhibiting works by local artists.
201. acclaim, admire, appreciate, praise
202. critique (especially North American English), discuss, review
203. inform, inspireA love of landscape informs all his work.
WORK + VERB
204. be called something, be entitled something, be titled
something (especially North American English)a work entitled ‘The Sacrifice’
205. depict something, describe something, represent
somethingThe work represents a synthesis of the natural and the artificial.
206. consist of somethinga work consisting of twelve small blank canvases
207. appear, be on show, go on showHer work appears at the Museum
of Contemporary Art this summer.
PREPOSITION
208. in a/the workShe’s studying the theme of death in the works of Beckett.
209. work bya work by an unknown 18th-century writer
PHRASES
210. a work of art, a work of fiction, a work of literatureThe building
is hated by some and considered a work of art by others.They discovered that his
report was a complete work of fiction. (humorous)
211. a work of geniusHer latest novel is a work of genius.
NoteSee WORK (9) in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary4
 (also works) building/repairing
ADJECTIVE
212. extensive, major
213. road usually roadworks in BrE and roadwork in AmE
214. maintenance, repair, restoration
VERB + WORKS
215. carry outWe are planning to carry out major works on the site.
216. plan
217. announce
WORKS + VERB
218. continue, go onThe works will continue until the end of July.
219. be completed, finish
PREPOSITION
220. at the work (British English)A contraflow is in operation at the works
near Junction 5.
See WORK (10) in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary5
 (works) (especially British English) factory
ADJECTIVE
221. brick, iron, steel usually brickworks, etc.
222. railway (British English)
223. sewage, treatmentThe smell is believed to have originated from the
sewage works.Scotland’s biggest water treatment works
VERB + WORKS
224. open
225. close, close down, shut down
WORKS + VERB
226. open
227. close, close downThe steelworks closed in 1986.
WORKS + NOUN
228. manager, supervisor
229. canteen (British English)
PREPOSITION
230. at the workthe night shift at the works