What is work?

More definitions of "work":

• (verb): Provoke or excite.
  Example: "The rock musician worked the crowd of young girls into a frenzy"

• (verb): Go sour or spoil.
  Synonyms: sour, turn, ferment

• (verb): Have an effect or outcome; often the one desired or expected.
  Example: "The voting process doesn't work as well as people thought"; "How does your idea work in practice?"; "This method doesn't work"
  Synonyms: act

• (verb): Proceed along a path.
  Example: "Work one's way through the crowd"
  Synonyms: make

• (verb): Perform as expected when applied.
  Example: "This old radio doesn't work anymore"
  Synonyms: function, operate, go, run

• (verb): Make uniform.
  Example: "Work the clay until it is soft"
  Synonyms: knead

• (verb): Gratify and charm, usually in order to influence.
  Example: "The political candidate worked the crowds"

• (verb): Arrive at a certain condition through repeated motion.
  Example: "The stitches of the hem worked loose after she wore the skirt many times"

• (verb): Give a work-out to.
  Example: "Work one's muscles"
  Synonyms: exercise, work out

• (verb): Operate in or through.
  Example: "Work the phones"

• (verb): Move into or onto.
  Example: "Work the raisins into the dough"; "the student worked a few jokes into his presentation"; "work the body onto the flatbed truck"

• (verb): Behave in a certain way when handled.
  Example: "This dough does not work easily"; "The soft metal works well"

• (noun): Applying the mind to learning and understanding a subject (especially by reading).
  Example: "Mastering a second language requires a lot of work"
  Synonyms: study

• (verb): Move in an agitated manner.
  Example: "His fingers worked with tension"

• (verb): Make something, usually for a specific function.
  Example: "Work the metal into a sword"
  Synonyms: shape, form, mold, mould, forge

• (verb): Have and exert influence or effect.
  Example: "The artist's work influenced the young painter"
  Synonyms: influence, act upon

• (verb): Cause to happen or to occur as a consequence.
  Example: "I cannot work a miracle"
  Synonyms: bring, play, wreak, make for

• (noun): The occupation for which you are paid.
  Example: "A lot of people are out of work"
  Synonyms: employment

• (verb): Find the solution to (a problem or question) or understand the meaning of.
  Example: "Work out your problems with the boss"; "this unpleasant situation isn't going to work itself out"; "He could not work the math problem"
  Synonyms: solve, work out, figure out, puzzle out, lick

• (noun): (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.
  Example: "Work equals force times distance"

• (verb): Exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity.
  Example: "I will work hard to improve my grades"; "she worked hard for better living conditions for the poor"

• (noun): The total output of a writer or artist (or a substantial part of it).
  Example: "Picasso's work can be divided into periods"
  Synonyms: oeuvre, body of work

• (verb): Proceed towards a goal or along a path or through an activity.
  Example: "Work your way through every problem or task"; "She was working on her second martini when the guests arrived"; "Start from the bottom and work towards the top"

• (verb): Prepare for crops.
  Example: "Work the soil"
  Synonyms: cultivate, crop

• (verb): Be employed.
  Example: "Do you want to work after the age of 60?"; "She never did any work because she inherited a lot of money"
  Synonyms: do work

• (noun): A place where work is done.
  Example: "He arrived at work early today"
  Synonyms: workplace

• (verb): Cause to operate or function.
  Example: "This pilot works the controls"; "Can you work an electric drill?"

• (verb): Shape, form, or improve a material.
  Example: "Work stone into tools"; "work the metal"
  Synonyms: work on, process

• (noun): A product produced or accomplished through the effort or activity or agency of a person or thing.
  Example: "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"
  Synonyms: piece of work

• (verb): Use or manipulate to one's advantage.
  Example: "She knows how to work the system"
  Synonyms: exploit

• (verb): Cause to work.
  Synonyms: put to work

• (verb): Operate in a certain place, area, or specialty.
  Example: "She works the night clubs"; "The salesman works the Midwest"; "This artist works mostly in acrylics"

• (verb): Cause to undergo fermentation.
  Synonyms: ferment

Famous quotes containing the word work:

“There is no reason why parents who work hard at a job to support a family, who nurture children during the hours at home, and who have searched for and selected the best [daycare] arrangement possible for their children need to feel anxious and guilty. It almost seems as if our culture wants parents to experience these negative feelings.”
—Gwen Morgan (20th century)

“To deny the need for comprehensive child care policies is to deny a reality—that there’s been a revolution in American life. Grandma doesn’t live next door anymore, Mom doesn’t work just because she’d like a few bucks for the sugar bowl.”
—Editorial, The New York Times (September 6, 1983)

“It’s true hard work never killed anybody, but I figure, why take the chance?”
—Ronald Reagan (b. 1911)