"working" in the noun sense
1. working, workings
a mine or quarry that is being or has been worked
"working" in the verb sense
1. work
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
"I will work hard to improve my grades"
"she worked hard for better living conditions for the poor"
2. work, do work
be employed
"Is your husband working again?"
"My wife never worked"
"Do you want to work after the age of 60?"
"She never did any work because she inherited a lot of money"
"She works as a waitress to put herself through college"
3. work, act
have an effect or outcome often the one desired or expected
"The voting process doesn't work as well as people thought"
"How does your idea work in practice?"
"This method doesn't work"
"The breaks of my new car act quickly"
"The medicine works only if you take it with a lot of water"
4. function, work, operate, go, run
perform as expected when applied
"The washing machine won't go unless it's plugged in"
"Does this old car still run well?"
"This old radio doesn't work anymore"
5. work, work on, process
shape, form, or improve a material
"work stone into tools"
"process iron"
"work the metal"
6. exercise, work, work out
give a workout to
"Some parents exercise their infants"
"My personal trainer works me hard"
"work one's muscles"
"this puzzle will exercise your mind"
7. make, work
proceed along a path
"work one's way through the crowd"
"make one's way into the forest"
8. work
operate in a certain place, area, or specialty
"She works the night clubs"
"The salesman works the Midwest"
"This artist works mostly in acrylics"
9. work
proceed towards a goal or along a path or through an activity
"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"
10. work
move in an agitated manner
"His fingers worked with tension"
11. bring, work, play, wreak, make for
cause to happen or to occur as a consequence
"I cannot work a miracle"
"wreak havoc"
"bring comments"
"play a joke"
"The rain brought relief to the drought-stricken area"
12. work, put to work
cause to work
"he is working his servants hard"
13. cultivate, crop, work
prepare for crops
"Work the soil"
"cultivate the land"
14. work
behave in a certain way when handled
"This dough does not work easily"
"The soft metal works well"
15. influence, act upon, work
have and exert influence or effect
"The artist's work influenced the young painter"
"She worked on her friends to support the political candidate"
16. work
operate in or through
"Work the phones"
17. work
cause to operate or function
"This pilot works the controls"
"Can you work an electric drill?"
18. work
provoke or excite
"The rock musician worked the crowd of young girls into a frenzy"
19. work
gratify and charm, usually in order to influence
"the political candidate worked the crowds"
20. shape, form, work, mold, mould, forge
make something, usually for a specific function
"She molded the rice balls carefully"
"Form cylinders from the dough"
"shape a figure"
"Work the metal into a sword"
21. work
move into or onto
"work the raisins into the dough"
"the student worked a few jokes into his presentation"
"work the body onto the flatbed truck"
22. knead, work
make uniform
"knead dough"
"work the clay until it is soft"
23. exploit, work
use or manipulate to one's advantage
"He exploit the new taxation system"
"She knows how to work the system"
"he works his parents for sympathy"
24. solve, work out, figure out, puzzle out, lick, work
find the solution to (a problem or question) or understand the meaning of
"did you solve the problem?"
"Work out your problems with the boss"
"this unpleasant situation isn't going to work itself out"
"did you get it?"
"Did you get my meaning?"
"He could not work the math problem"
25. ferment, work
cause to undergo fermentation
"We ferment the grapes for a very long time to achieve high alcohol content"
"The vintner worked the wine in big oak vats"
26. sour, turn, ferment, work
go sour or spoil
"The milk has soured"
"The wine worked"
"The cream has turned
27. work
arrive at a certain condition through repeated motion
"The stitches of the hem worked loose after she wore the skirt many times"
"working" in the adjective sense
1. working, on the job
actively engaged in paid work
"the working population"
"the ratio of working men to unemployed"
"a working mother"
"robots can be on the job day and night"
2. working
adequate for practical use especially sufficient in strength or numbers to accomplish something
"the party has a working majority in the House"
"a working knowledge of Spanish"
3. working
adopted as a temporary basis for further work
"a working draft"
"a working hypothesis"
4. running, operative, functional, working
of e.g. a machine) performing or capable of performing
"in running (or working) order"
"a functional set of brakes"
5. working
serving to permit or facilitate further work or activity
"discussed the working draft of a peace treaty"
"they need working agreements with their neighbor states on interstate projects"
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
Princeton University "About WordNet®."
WordNet®. Princeton University. 2010.
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