Tra từ work - Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

work [work works worked working] verb, noun BrE [wɜːk] NAmE [wɜːrk]
verb

DO JOB/TASK
1. intransitive to do sth that involves physical or mental effort, especially as part of a job
• I can't work if I'm cold.
•~ at sth I've been working at my assignment all day.
•~ on sth He is working on a new novel.
•She's outside, working on the car.
•+ noun Doctors often work very long hours.
2. intransitive to have a job
• Both my parents work.
•~ for sb/sth She works for an engineering company.
•~ in sth I've always worked in education.
•~ with sb/sth Do you enjoy working with children?
•~ as sth My son is working as a teacher.

MAKE EFFORT
3. transitive ~ yourself/sb + adv./prep. to make yourself/sb work, especially very hard
•She works herself too hard.
4. intransitive to make efforts to achieve sth
•~ for sth She dedicated her life to working for peace.
•~ to do sth The committee is working to get the prisoners freed.
•The police and the public need to work together to combat crime.

MANAGE
5. transitive ~ sth to manage or operate sth to gain benefit from it
•to work the land (= grow crops on it, etc.)
•He works a large area (= selling a company's goods, etc.).
• (figurative)She was a skilful speaker who knew how to work a crowd (= to excite them or make them feel sth strongly).

MACHINE/DEVICE
6. intransitive to function; to operate
• The phone isn't working.
• It works by electricity.
•Are they any closer to understanding how the brain works?
7. transitive ~ sth to make a machine, device, etc. operate
•Do you know how to work the coffee machine?
•The machine is worked by wind power.

HAVE RESULT/EFFECT
8. intransitive to have the result or effect that you want
• The pills the doctor gave me aren't working.
• My plan worked, and I got them to agree.
•~ on sb/sth His charm doesn't work on me (= does not affect or impress me).
9. intransitive to have a particular effect
•~ against sb Your age can work against you in this job.
•~ in sb's favour Speaking Italian should work in his favour.
10. transitive ~ sth to cause or produce sth as a result of effort
•You can work miracles with very little money if you follow our home decoration tips.

USE MATERIAL
11. transitive to make a material into a particular shape or form by pressing, stretching, hitting it, etc
•~ sth to work clay
•to work gold
•~ sth into sth to work the mixture into a paste
12. intransitive ~ in/with sth (of an artist, etc.)to use a particular material to produce a picture or other item
•an artist working in oils
•a craftsman working with wool

OF PART OF FACE/BODY
13. intransitive (formal)to move violently
•He stared at me in horror, his mouth working.

MOVE GRADUALLY
14. intransitive, transitive to move or pass to a particular place or state, usually gradually
•+ adv./prep. It will take a while for the drug to work out of your system.
•~ your way + adv./prep. (figurative)He worked his way to the top of his profession.
•~ yourself/sth + adj. I was tied up, but managed to work myself free.
•+ adj. The screw had worked loose.
Rem: Most idioms containing work are at the entries for the nouns and adjectives in the idioms, for example work your fingers to the bone is at finger.
Verb forms:

Word Origin:
Old English weorc (noun), wyrcan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch werk and German Werk, from an Indo-European root shared by Greek ergon.

Culture:
voluntary work
Voluntary work is work that you do not get paid for and usually involves doing things to help other people, especially the elderly or the sick, or working on behalf of a charity or similar organization. Most charitable organizations rely on unpaid volunteers, and thousands of Americans and British people give many hours of their time to doing some form of social work or organizing fund-raising events to support the work. Volunteering is especially popular in the US and the reasons for this may be found in basic American values such as the Protestant work ethic, the idea that work improves the person who does it, and the belief that people can change their condition if they try hard enough.
Volunteering is usually enjoyable, as people choose jobs close to their personal interests. For instance, people who like animals may volunteer in an animal shelter, a place for animals which have been treated cruelly. Some voluntary work is short-term, e.g. when people from a community get together to create a park. Other work is longer term, such as that of the US organization Habitat for Humanity which builds houses for poor people. Parents often volunteer at their children’s schools, and do things like building a play area or raising money for new equipment. Young people are also encouraged to do voluntary work. Schoolchildren visit old people in hospitals or homes, and students at college often raise money for charities. In the US young people over 18 can take part in AmeriCorps, a government programme that encourages them to work as volunteers for a period of time, with the promise of help in paying for their education later. Older Americans who do not work may spend much of their free time volunteering.
In Britain a lot of voluntary work is directed towards supporting the country’s social services. The ↑WRVS and other organizations run a meals-on-wheels service in many parts of Britain, providing hot food for old people who are unable to cook for themselves. The nationwide ↑Citizens Advice Bureau, which offers free advice to the public on a wide range of issues, is run mainly by volunteers, and the Blood Transfusion Service relies on voluntary blood donors to give blood for use in hospitals. Political parties use volunteers at election time, and Churches depend on volunteers to keep buildings clean.
Both Britain and the US have organizations dedicated to helping people overseas. Britain’s ↑Voluntary Service Overseas sends people to work in developing countries for up to two years to share their skills with the local population. The US ↑Peace Corps has similar aims and programmes.

Example Bank:
•A lot of mothers choose to work part-time.
•An architect must work within the confines of the laws of physics.
•Emergency teams were working around the clock to make the homes secure.
•Employees are motivated to work harder for a whole host of different reasons.
•Everything worked very smoothly.
•He was found to be working illegally and was deported.
•He's working as a teacher at the moment.
•Her strategy worked like a charm.
•His age worked against him.
•I needed a job which would enable me to work at home.
•I prefer to work as part of a team.
•I told her I didn't think things would work out between us.
•I work more efficiently on my own.
•I work primarily with young children.
•I've spent three hours working at this problem.
•It all worked out as we planned.
•My limbs seemed to be working independently of each other.
•She works directly with customers.
•She works for an oil company.
•The fact that you are experienced should work in your favour.
•The fish's eyes can work independently of each other.
•They are all working towards/toward a common goal.
•Things worked out well for Janet in the end.
•This all works out to around $11 000.
•We are actively working to increase the number of women in science.
•We are working on plans for a new swimming pool.
•We have proved that different groups can work harmoniously together.
•We worked steadily away all morning.
•You can make your youth work to your advantage.
•people who have worked closely together over a period of time
•the people you work with
•Boys who didn 1 t go to school worked the land with their fathers.
•He says they're working him hard.
•I can't work if I'm cold.
•I've always worked in education.
•I've been working at my assignment all day.
•Increased measures to keep out unwanted foreigners work to the disadvantage of genuine refugees.
•She's outside, working on the car.
•The phone isn't working.
•The police and public need to work together to combat crime.
Idioms: ↑all work and no play ▪ ↑at work ▪ ↑get to to work ▪ ↑give somebody the works ▪ ↑go about your work ▪ ↑good works ▪ ↑have your work cut out ▪ ↑in the works ▪ ↑work it ▪ work of a moment/second
Derived: ↑work at something ▪ ↑work on somebody ▪ ↑work on something ▪ ↑work out ▪ ↑work round to somebody ▪ ↑work somebody out ▪ ↑work somebody over ▪ ↑work somebody up ▪ ↑work something in ▪ ↑work something into something ▪ ↑work something off ▪ ↑work something out ▪ ↑work something up ▪ ↑work something up into something ▪ ↑work to something ▪ ↑work towards something ▪ ↑work up to something

noun

JOB/TASK
1. uncountable the job that a person does especially in order to earn money
Syn: ↑employment
• She had been out of work (= without a job) for a year.
• (BrE) They are in work (= have a job).
•He started work as a security guard.
•It is difficult to find work in the present economic climate.
•I'm still looking for work.
•She's planning to return to work once the children start school.
•What line of work are you in (= what type of work do you do)?
•before/after work (= in the morning/evening each day)
•full-time/part-time/unpaid/voluntary work
2. uncountable the duties that you have and the activities that you do as part of your job
• Police work is mainly routine.
• The accountant described his work to the sales staff.
see also ↑piecework, ↑social work
3. uncountable tasks that need to be done
• There is plenty of work to be done in the garden.
• Taking care of a baby is hard work.
•I have some work for you to do.
•Stop talking and get on with your work.
see also ↑homework, ↑schoolwork
4. uncountable materials needed or used for doing work, especially books, papers, etc
•She often brings work (= for example, files and documents) home with her from the office.
•His work was spread all over the floor.
see also ↑paperwork

PLACE OF JOB
5. uncountable (used without the)the place where you do your job
• I go to work at 8 o'clock.
• When do you leave for work?
•The new legislation concerns health and safety at work.
•I have to leave work early today.
•Her friends from work came to see her in the hospital.

EFFORT
6. uncountable the use of physical strength or mental power in order to do or make sth
• She earned her grades through sheer hard work.
• We started work on the project in 2009.
•Work continues on renovating the hotel.
•The work of building the bridge took six months.
•The art collection was his life's work.
•She set them to work painting the fence.
•They performed pioneering work on the treatment of cancer.
see also ↑donkey work, ↑fieldwork

PRODUCT OF WORK
7. uncountable a thing or things that are produced as a result of work
• She's an artist whose work I really admire.
• Is this all your own work (= did you do it without help from others)?
•The book is a detailed and thorough piece of work covering all aspects of the subject.

RESULT OF ACTION
8. uncountable the result of an action; what is done by sb
• The damage is clearly the work of vandals.

BOOK/MUSIC/ART
9. countable a book, piece of music, painting, etc
•the collected/complete works of Tolstoy
•works of fiction/literature
•Beethoven's piano works
• He recognized the sketch as an early work by Degas.
compare ↑opus
see also ↑work of art

BUILDING/REPAIRING
10. worksplural (often in compounds)activities involving building or repairing sth
•roadworks
• They expanded the shipyards and started engineering works.
•A contract can ensure that landlords carry out the works for which they are legally responsible.
see also ↑public works

FACTORY
11. works(pl. works)countable + singular or plural verb (often in compounds)a place where things are made or industrial processes take place
•an engineering works
•a brickworks
•Raw materials were carried to the works by barge.

PARTS OF MACHINE
12. the worksplural the moving parts of a machine, etc.
Syn: ↑mechanism

EVERYTHING
13. the worksplural (informal)everything
•We went to the chip shop and had the works: fish, chips, gherkins, mushy peas.

PHYSICS
14. uncountable the use of force to produce movement
see also ↑joule
more at all in a day's work at ↑day, the devil makes work for idle hands at ↑devil, (do sb's) dirty work at ↑dirty _adj., many hands make light work at ↑hand _n., make hard work of sthtoo much like hard work at ↑hard _adj., a job of work at ↑job, make light work of sth at ↑light _adj., a nasty piece of work at ↑nasty, nice worknice work if you can get it at ↑nice, shoot the works at ↑shoot _v., make short work of sb/sth at ↑short _adj., (throw) a spanner in the works at ↑spanner

Word Origin:
Old English weorc (noun), wyrcan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch werk and German Werk, from an Indo-European root shared by Greek ergon.

Collocations:
Jobs
Getting a job
look for work
look for/apply for/go for a job
get/pick up/complete/fill out/ (BrE) fill in an application (form)
send/email your (BrE) CV/(NAmE) résumé/application/application form/covering letter
be called for/have/attend an interview
offer sb a job/work/employment/promotion
find/get/land a job
employ/ (especially NAmE) hire/recruit/ (especially BrE) take on staff/workers/trainees
recruit/appoint a manager
Doing a job
arrive at/get to/leave work/the office/the factory
start/finish work/your shift
do/put in/work overtime
have/gain/get/lack/need experience/qualifications
do/get/have/receive training
learn/pick up/improve/develop (your) skills
cope with/manage/share/spread the workload
improve your/achieve a better work-life balance
have (no) job satisfaction/job security
Building a career
have a job/work/a career/a vocation
find/follow/pursue/ (especially NAmE) live (out) your vocation
enter/go into/join a profession
choose/embark on/start/begin/pursue a career
change jobs/profession/career
be/ (both especially BrE) work/go freelance
do/take on temp work/freelance work
do/be engaged in/be involved in voluntary work
Leaving your job
leave/ (especially NAmE) quit/resign from your job
give up work/your job/your career
hand in your notice/resignation
plan to/be due to retire in June/next year, etc.
take early retirement

Collocations:
Unemployment
Losing your job
lose your job
(BrE) become/be made redundant
be offered/take voluntary redundancy/early retirement
face/be threatened with dismissal/(BrE) the sack/(BrE) compulsory redundancy
dismiss/fire/ (especially BrE) sack an employee/a worker/a manager
lay off staff/workers/employees
(AustralE, NZE, SAfrE) retrench workers
cut/reduce/downsize/slash the workforce
(BrE) make staff/workers/employees redundant
Being unemployed
be unemployed/out of work/out of a job
seek/look for work/employment
be on/collect/draw/get/receive (both BrE) unemployment benefit/jobseeker's allowance
be/go/live/sign (BrE, informal) on the dole
claim/draw/get (BrE, informal) the dole
be on/qualify for (NAmE) unemployment (compensation)
be/go/live/depend (NAmE) on welfare
collect/receive (NAmE) welfare
combat/tackle/cut/reduce unemployment

Synonyms:
factory
plant • mill • works • yard • workshop • foundry
These are all words for buildings or places where things are made or where industrial processes take place.
factory • a building or group of buildings where goods are made: ▪ a chocolate/cigarette/clothing factory
plant • a factory or place where power is produced or an industrial process takes place: ▪ a nuclear power plant ◇ ▪ a manufacturing plant
mill • a factory that produces a particular type of material: ▪ a cotton/paper/textile/woollen mill
works • (often in compounds) a place where things are made or an industrial process takes place: ▪ a brickworks ◇ ▪ a steelworks ◇ ▪ Raw materials were carried to the works by barge.
yard • (usually in compounds) an area of land used for building sth: ▪ a shipyard
workshop • a room or building in which things are made or repaired using tools or machinery: ▪ a car repair workshop
foundry • a factory where metal or glass is melted and made into different shapes or objects: ▪ an iron foundry
a car/chemical/munitions factory/plant
an engineering plant/works
to manage/run a factory/plant/mill/works/yard/workshop/foundry
to work in/at a factory/plant/mill/yard/workshop/foundry
factory/mill/foundry owners/managers/workers

Synonyms:
work
employment • career • profession • occupation • trade
These are all words for the work that sb does in return for payment, especially over a long period of time.
work • the job that sb does, especially in order to earn money: ▪ It's very difficult to find work at the moment.
employment • (rather formal) work, especially when it is done to earn money; the state of being employed or the situation in which people have work: ▪ Only half the people here are in paid employment.
career • the job or series of jobs that sb has in a particular area of work, usually involving more responsibility as time passes: ▪ He had a very distinguished career in the Foreign Office.
profession • a type of job that needs special training or skill, especially one that needs a high level of education: ▪ He hopes to enter the medical profession.
The profession is all the people who work in a particular profession: ▪ the legal profession. The professions are the traditional jobs that need a high level of education and training, such as being a doctor or lawyer.
occupation • (rather formal) a job or profession: ▪ Please state your name, age, and occupation.
trade • a job, especially one that involves working with your hands and requires special training and skills: ▪ Carpentry is a highly skilled trade.
in/out of work/employment
(a) full-time/part-time work/employment/career/occupation
permanent/temporary work/employment
(a) well-paid work/employment/profession/occupation
(a) low-paid work/employment/occupation
to look for/seek/find work/employment/a career/an occupation
to get/obtain/give sb/offer sb/create/generate/provide work/employment

Example Bank:
•‘Where's Diane?’ ‘She's at work.’
•A contraflow is in operation at the works near Junction 5.
•A hundred grand for two days a week? Nice work if you can get it!
•A love of landscape informs all his work.
•All the construction work was carried out in 2001.
•All these visitors make a lot of work for me.
•Ambulance crews alternate between emergency and routine work.
•An independent report has described some work practices in the industry as old-fashioned.
•Beethoven composed his greatest works in the latter part of his life.
•Big football matches make a lot of work for the police.
•Children can learn good work habits at school.
•During the college vacations he does casual work in the local hospital.
•Employees must not make personal calls during work hours.
•Engine maintenance is dirty work.
•Full-time work is hard to find.
•He did pioneering work on microbes.
•He does mainly commissioned portrait works.
•He got laid off, so now he's looking for work again.
•He has done the grunt work= the hard, boring part of a task, sifting through thousands of official records.
•He has some freelance work at the moment.
•He hasn't been in regular work since he left school.
•He preferred to make his money from honest work rather than from gambling.
•He's been hard at work all morning.
•He's been out of work since the factory closed.
•He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering company.
•He's got a bit of freelance work at the moment.
•He's willing to do extra work to get the project finished on time.
•Her book is still considered the definitive work on beetles.
•Her boss told her she had to increase her work rate.
•Her job is to manage the company's work flow.
•Her latest novel is a work of genius.
•Her portfolio includes published works in several magazines.
•Her work appears at the Museum of Contemporary Art this summer.
•Her work can be seen in most of the major European galleries.
•Her work consists of drawing up and coordinating schedules.
•High income tax can undermine work incentives.
•His written work is the best in the class.
•How much will the work cost?
•How's the work going this morning?
•I did the donkey work but I hired a professional builder for the tricky bits.
•I did the donkey work= hard work requiring little skill but I hired a professional for the hard part.
•I go to work by bus.
•I had lots of work to do.
•I have to do some work on the car before it'll be ready.
•I met him through work.
•I need to wear glasses for close work.
•I really appreciate all your hard work.
•I think I'd better try and get some work done.
•I'm lucky— I love my work.
•I've got lots of work to do today.
•I've taken on more work than I have time to do.
•In accepting the award, she mentioned the sterling work of her assistants.
•Is this all your own work= did you do it without help from others?
•It doesn't require skill— it's a matter of sheer hard work.
•It was an interesting piece of work.
•It will take a month to clear the backlog of work.
•It's hard work trying to get him to do a few things for himself.
•It's important to be happy in your work.
•It's piece work, so how much you earn depends on how fast you can work.
•Just before he was sixty, he decided to give up work.
•Many unemployed people welcome the chance to do purposeful work, even if unpaid.
•Mike made short work of fixing the engine.
•Nice work, James! I'm impressed.
•Over the next two years, the company is putting on the complete works of Brecht.
•People are using file-sharing to steal copyrighted works.
•People went about their daily work despite the war.
•Picasso's mature works
•Pressure of work forced him to cancel his holiday.
•Sales reps meet up monthly to coordinate their work.
•Scotland's biggest water treatment works
•She has just returned to work after the birth of her child.
•She is now looking for paid work outside the home.
•She never does a stroke of work.
•She stops work at the end of this month.
•She's been off work with a bad back since July.
•She's done a lot of work with disadvantaged children.
•She's only allowed to do a little light work because of her bad arm.
•She's put in a lot of work on the design.
•She's studying the theme of death in the works of Beckett.
•Small children make a lot of work for their parents.
•Some mothers of young children choose not to go out to work.
•Stop talking and get down to work.
•That work can wait until tomorrow.
•The art collection was his life's work.
•The assistant manager supervises work on the factory floor.
•The building is hated by some and considered a work of art by others.
•The construction company has three work crews of five men each.
•The drugs gang used children to do their dirty work for them.
•The finished work will be on view in the city art gallery.
•The gallery is staging a special exhibition of Monet's early works.
•The hotel manager thanked the staff and told them to keep up the good work.
•The hotel manager thanked the staff for their efforts so far and told them to keep up the good work.
•The instructor's work load was becoming increasingly heavy.
•The new president spent the first year undoing the work of his predecessor.
•The opportunities will depend on your work experience.
•The poorly designed bridge needs remedial work to make it safe.
•The report is the joint work of an economist and a sociologist.
•The research institute needs funds in order to carry on its valuable work.
•The scandal was revealed after months of undercover work by journalists.
•The show is the product of two years' intensive work.
•The showroom has been designed so that people can see work in progress.
•The smell is believed to have originated from the sewage works.
•The town hall is exhibiting works by local artists.
•The work comes in bursts according to the time of year.
•The work represents a synthesis of the natural and the artificial.
•The works at Bury turned out thousands of television sets a week.
•The works will continue until the end of July.
•These paintings are more abstract than her previous work.
•They began work on the project last year.
•They began work on the project towards the end of the year.
•They discovered that his CV was a complete work of fiction.
•They employ a couple of young men to do the heavy work.
•They lost the work to a competitor.
•They think that caring for children is women's work.
•Through their tireless work, they proved his innocence.
•To carry out accurate market research requires a huge amount of work.
•We are planning to carry out major works on the site.
•We get far too much work at this time of year.
•We give grants to support the work of voluntary organizations.
•We had a party at work.
•We set to work on the outside of the house.
•We're going to have some building work done on the house.
•We're supposed to hand in this work tomorrow.
•What does the work involve?
•What time do you finish work?
•What time does work start in the morning?
•With so much unemployment, I'm lucky to be in work.
•Work came to a complete halt in the summer.
•Work came to a complete standstill when rumours of redundancies started to circulate.
•Work on the project was halted.
•Work produced on a computer tends to look more professional.
•Work surfaces should be left clear and clean.
•Work's going well at the moment.
•a work by an unknown 18th-century writer
•a work consisting of twelve small blank canvases
•a work entitled ‘Forward Pass’
•a work entitled ‘The Sacrifice’
•classroom activities involving collaborative work between children
•the collected works of Stephen King
•the night shift at the works
•‘Where's John?’ ‘He's still at work.’
•All non-EU citizens need a work permit in order to get a job.
•Any kind of work with kids would suit him fine.
•Chopin's piano works
•He loves his work as a stage manager.
•He's been out of work for over a year.
•I go to work at 8 o'clock.
•I'm looking for any kind of construction work.
•It is a country where most women with young children are in paid work.
•It's very difficult to find work at the moment.
•Let's get to work.
•She earned her grades through sheer hard work.
•She's an artist whose work I really admire.
•She's been off work for three weeks.
•She's planning to return to work in September.
•State inspectors have cast doubt on claims of shoddy work on the new Bay Bridge.
•Students do work experience in local firms.
•The book is a detailed and thorough piece of work.
•The degree show gives students a chance to exhibit their work in central London.
•The film is based on an early work by Alan Moore.
•The new legislation concerns health and safety at work.
•We started work on the project in 2002.
•What kind of work experience do you have?
•What time do you knock off work tonight?
•When do you leave for work?
•Would you give up work if you won the lottery?
•works of fiction/literature