26984 words

worked

9 definitions • 27 examples
1
past simple and past participle of
2
to be effective or successful:

Examples:

work in practice Her idea for reorganizing the department will never work in practice.
work in The tablets will start to work in a few minutes.
work for Some people think I'm weird doing meditation, but it works for me and that's all that matters.
work well Arguably, the monarchy worked well for many centuries.
3
to do a job, especially the job you do to earn money:

Examples:

Where do you work?
work at He works at the hospital.
work as She worked as a cleaner at the hospital.
work for Mike works for a computer company.
work in I work in management training.
work with Have you any experience of working with children who have learning difficulties?
It's not unusual for a junior doctor to work a 70 or sometimes an 80-hour week.
4
to have a particular place as your place of work:

Examples:

At that time, our New York staff was working out of a former warehouse in Lower Manhattan.
5
to make a person or animal do a job:

Examples:

work hard The instructors worked us very hard on the survival course.
Many of the animals were worked to death.
6
If a machine or device works, it operates, especially correctly and without failure, and if you work it, you make it operate:

Examples:

Our phone isn't working.
You need a team of about twelve people to work a furnace this size.
work off/on The pump works off/on (= uses) wind power.
work by The pump is worked by (= uses to operate) wind power.
get something to work I can't get the radio to work.
7
to succeed gradually in becoming something or cause a person or thing to become something, either by making an effort or by making many small movements:

Examples:

work your way up something He started as a technician and worked his way up through the company to become managing director.
work your way through something Eventually she worked her way through (= read) the huge amount of technical papers.
Vibration tends to make nuts and screws work themselves loose.
The screws had worked loose over time.
8
to arrange for something to happen, especially by not using official methods and/or by being clever:

Examples:

work it I don't know how she worked it, but she retired at 50.
work things (out) Can we work things (out) so that there's always someone here to answer the phone during office hours?
9
to shape, change, or process a substance:

Examples:

work something into something Gently work the butter into the flour until there are no lumps left.

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