Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - work

 I. noun  Etymology: Middle English werk, ~, from Old English werc, weorc; akin to Old High German werc ~, Greek ergon, Avestan var?zem activity  Date: before 12th century  1. activity in which one exerts strength or faculties to do or perform something:  a. sustained physical or mental effort to overcome obstacles and achieve an objective or result  b. the labor, task, or duty that is one's accustomed means of livelihood  c. a specific task, duty, function, or assignment often being a part or phase of some larger activity  2.  a. energy expended by natural phenomena  b. the result of such energy sand dunes are the ~ of sea and wind  c. the transference of energy that is produced by the motion of the point of application of a force and is measured by multiplying the force and the displacement of its point of application in the line of action  3.  a. something that results from a particular manner or method of ~ing, operating, or devising careful police ~ clever camera ~  b. something that results from the use or fashioning of a particular material porcelain ~  4.  a. a fortified structure (as a fort, earthen barricade, or trench)  b. plural structures in engineering (as docks, bridges, or embankments) or mining (as shafts or tunnels)  5. plural but singular or plural in construction a place where industrial labor is carried on ; plant, factory  6. plural the ~ing or moving parts of a mechanism the ~s of a clock  7.  a. something produced or accomplished by effort, exertion, or exercise of skill this book is the ~ of many hands  b. something produced by the exercise of creative talent or expenditure of creative effort ; artistic production an early ~ by a major writer  8. plural performance of moral or religious acts salvation by ~s  9.  a. effective operation ; effect, result wait for time to do its healing ~  b. manner of ~ing ; ~manship, execution  10. the material or piece of material that is operated upon at any stage in the process of manufacture  11. plural  a. everything possessed, available, or belonging the whole ~s, rod, reel, tackle box, went overboard ordered pizza with the ~s  b. subjection to drastic treatment ; all possible abuse — usually used with get get the ~s or give gave them the ~s Synonyms:  ~, labor, travail, toil, drudgery, grind mean activity involving effort or exertion. ~ may imply activity of body, of mind, of a machine, or of a natural force too tired to do any ~. labor applies to physical or intellectual ~ involving great and often strenuous exertion farmers demanding fair compensation for their labor. travail is bookish for labor involving pain or suffering years of travail were lost when the house burned. toil implies prolonged and fatiguing labor his lot would be years of back-breaking toil. drudgery suggests dull and irksome labor an editorial job with a good deal of drudgery. grind implies labor exhausting to mind or body the grind of the assembly line. Synonyms:  ~, employment, occupation, calling, pursuit, metier, business mean a specific sustained activity engaged in especially in earning one's living. ~ may apply to any purposeful activity whether remunerative or not her ~ as a hospital volunteer. employment implies ~ for which one has been engaged and is being paid by an employer your employment with this firm is hereby terminated. occupation implies ~ in which one engages regularly especially as a result of training his occupation as a trained auto mechanic. calling applies to an occupation viewed as a vocation or profession the ministry seemed my true calling. pursuit suggests a trade, profession, or avocation followed with zeal or steady interest her family considered medicine the only proper pursuit. metier implies a calling or pursuit for which one believes oneself to be especially fitted acting was my one and only metier. business suggests activity in commerce or the management of money and affairs the business of managing a hotel.  II. ADJECTIVE  Date: 14th century  1. used for ~ a ~ elephant  2. suitable or styled for wear while ~ing ~ clothes  3. involving or engaged in ~ a ~ gang ~ hours  III. verb  (~ed or wrought; ~ing)  Etymology: Middle English werken, ~en, from Old English wyrcan; akin to Old English weorc  Date: before 12th century  transitive verb  1. to bring to pass ; effect ~ miracles  2.  a. to fashion or create a useful or desired product by expending labor or exertion on ; forge, shape ~ flint into tools  b. to make or decorate with needle~; especially embroider  3.  a. to prepare for use by stirring or kneading  b. to bring into a desired form by a gradual process of cutting, hammering, scraping, pressing, or stretching ~ cold steel  4. to set or keep in motion, operation, or activity ; cause to operate or produce a pump ~ed by hand ~ farmland  5. to solve (a problem) by reasoning or calculation — often used with out  6.  a. to cause to toil or labor ~ed their horses nearly to death  b. to make use of ; exploit  c. to control or guide the operation of switches are ~ed from a central tower  7.  a. to carry on an operation or perform a job through, at, in, or along the salespeople ~ed both sides of the street a sportscaster hired to ~ the game  b. to greet and talk with in a friendly way in order to ingratiate oneself or achieve a purpose politicians ~ing the crowd ~ed the room  8. to pay for or achieve with labor or service ~ed my way through college ~ed my way up in the company  9.  a. to get (oneself or an object) into or out of a condition or position by gradual stages  b. contrive, arrange we can ~ it so that you can take your vacation  10.  a. to practice trickery or cajolery on for some end ~ed the management for a free ticket  b. excite, provoke ~ed myself into a rage  intransitive verb  1.  a. to exert oneself physically or mentally especially in sustained effort for a purpose or under compulsion or necessity  b. to perform or carry through a task requiring sustained effort or continuous repeated operations ~ed all day over a hot stove  c. to perform ~ or fulfill duties regularly for wages or salary ~s in publishing  2. to function or operate according to plan or design hinges ~ better with oil  3. to exert an influence or tendency  4. to produce a desired effect or result ; succeed a plan that will ~  5.  a. to make way slowly and with difficulty ; move or progress laboriously ~ed up to the presidency  b. to sail to windward  6. to permit of being ~ed ; react in a specified way to being ~ed this wood ~s easily  7.  a. to be in agitation or restless motion  b. ferment 1  c. to move slightly in relation to another part  d. to get into a specified condition by slow or imperceptible movements the knot ~ed loose