work

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. job, occupation, calling, trade, profession; task, stint, employment; drudgery, toil, moil, grind, routine; function; craftsmanship, workmanship; arts and crafts, craft, handicraft; opus, production, writing, book publication;office; management; manufacture. See business. — v. toil, moil, labor, plod, plug, drudge, use elbow grease (inf.); run, act, operate, function; leaven, ferment, yeast; use, employ; succeed, perform, do; effect, exert, strain; embroider, embellish, decorate. See action, success, exertion, agency, effect.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [Something to be done]

Syn. commitment, task, obligation; see job 2 .

2. [The doing of work, sense 1]

Syn. performance, endeavor, employment, production, occupation, profession, vocation, calling, practice, activity, manufacture, industry, operation, transaction, toil, labor, exertion, drudgery, functioning, stress, struggle, slavery, trial, push, attempt, effort, pains, elbow grease*, muscle*.

3. [The result of labor; often plural ]

Syn. composition, feat, accomplishment, output, product, deed, act, finished article, achievement, end product, opus, opera; see also drama 1 , literature 1 , movie , music 1 , picture 3 .

4. [Occupation]

Syn. profession, craft, business; see job 1 , trade 2 .

• at work,

Syn. working, on the job, engaged; see employed .

• give someone the works*,

Syn. shoot, slaughter, murder; see kill 1 .

• in the works*,

Syn. prepared for, budgeted, in process, approved; see planned , ready 2 .

• make short or [m1]• quick work of*,

Syn. finish off, deal with, dispose of; see prevent , stop 1 .

• off work,

Syn. not at work, off duty, not on duty, gone, gone home, out of work; see also unemployed .

• out of work,

Syn. not hired, dismissed, looking for a job, redundant (British); see unemployed .

• shoot the works*, risk everything, gamble, everything, go the limit, attempt; risk , try 1 .

v.

1. [To labor]

Syn. toil, slave, sweat, do a day's work, do the chores, exert oneself, apply oneself, do one's best, overexert, overwork, overstrain, get to work, work overtime, work day and night, work early and late, work one's way up, fight one's way up, tax one's energies, pull, plod, tug, chore, struggle, strive, carry on, do the job*, punch a time clock*, put in time*, pour it on*, not spare the horses*, work one's fingers to the bone*, buckle down*, bear down*, work like a horse, work like a dog, work like a slave*, keep at it*, stay with it*, put one's shoulder to the wheel*, burn the candle at both ends*, burn the midnight oil*; see also fight 1 .

2. [To be employed]

Syn. earn one's living, earn a living, have a job, hold a position, occupy a post, report for work, be off the dole, be off the welfare rolls, be among the gainfully employed, be on the job, do time*, do one's stint*, be working on the railroad*, be a wage slave*.

3. [To function]

Syn. go, run, serve; see act 1 , operate 2 .

4. [To handle successfully]

Syn. control, accomplish, manage; see achieve 1 , operate 3 .

5. [To fashion]

Syn. give form to, sculpture, mold; see form 1 .

6. [To ferment]

Syn. sour, ripen, become worky; see ferment .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

1. labor exertion, toil, effort, struggle, drudgery, *daily grind, *elbow grease, muscle, sweat, slavery, pains.

2. job employment, occupation, *daily grind, livelihood, line, trade, profesion, vocation, business, calling. A remedy against all ills.''— Charles Baudelaire. Paid struggle.''—Max Gralnik. The refuge of people who have nothing better to do.''—Oscar Wilde.

3. chore task, duty, assignment, charge, burden, responsibility.

ANT.: idleness, sloth, leisure, play, relaxation

II

v.

1. labor exert, toil, put in effort, struggle, drudge, *apply elbow grease, *put muscle into it, sweat, slave, take pains, *break one's back, strain, *plug away, *keep one's nose to the grindstone, *burn the midnight oil, *work one's fingers to the bone, be employed, do business, earn one's living, *moonlight.

2. operate run, function, perform, tick, go.

3. succeed be effective, *fly, effect, fulfill, bring about, produce, create.

4. handle maneuver, run, use, drive.

5. shape manipulate, knead, mold.

ANT.: 1. relax, recreate, play, take it easy

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I noun 1. Physical exertion that is usually difficult and exhausting: drudgery, labor, moil, toil, travail. Informal: sweat. Chiefly British: fag. Idiom: sweat of one's brow. See WORK. 2. Activity pursued as a livelihood: art, business, calling, career, craft, employment, job, line, metier, occupation, profession, pursuit, trade, vocation. Slang: racket. Archaic: employ. See ACTION. 3. Something done: act, action, deed, doing, thing. See DO. 4. Something that is the result of creative effort: composition, opus, piece, production. See MAKE. 5. An issue of printed material offered for sale or distribution: opus, publication, title, volume. See WORDS. 6. A building or complex in which an industry is located. Used in plural: factory, mill, plant. See MAKE, PLACE. 7. The technique, style, and quality of working: craftsmanship, workmanship. See WORK. 8. Informal. An amount or quantity from which nothing is left out or held back. Used in plural: aggregate, all, entirety, everything, gross, sum, total, totality, whole. Idioms: everything but (or except) the kitchen sink; lock, stock, and barrel; the whole ball of wax (or kit and caboodle or megillah or nine yards or shebang). See PART. II verb 1. To exert one's mental or physical powers, usually under difficulty and to the point of exhaustion: drive, fag, labor, moil, strain1, strive, sweat, toil, travail, tug. Idiom: break one's back (or neck). See WORK. 2. To perform a function effectively: function, go, operate, run, take. See THRIVE. 3. To react in a specified way: act, behave, function, operate, perform. See ACTION. 4. To turn out well: come off, go, go over, pan out, succeed, work out. Slang: click. See THRIVE. 5. To control or direct the functioning of: manage, operate, run, use. See CONTROL. 6. To arrive at an answer to (a mathematical problem): solve, work out. Informal: figure out. See REASON. 7. To handle in a way so as to mix, form, and shape: knead, manipulate. See TOUCH. 8. To introduce gradually and slyly: edge, foist, infiltrate, insinuate, wind2, worm. See ENTER. 9. To prepare (soil) for the planting and raising of crops: cultivate, culture, dress, tend2, till. See PREPARED, TOUCH. 10. To force to work: drive, task, tax. Mow; crack the whip. See WORK.