Etymology 1

weorc, worc; akin to Old Frisian werk, wirk, Old Saxon, Dutch werk, German Werk, Old High German werc, werah, Icelandic & Swedish verk, Danish værk, Gothic gawaúrki, Ancient Greek , Avestan verez (to work), Armenian . Cognates include: bulwark, energy, erg, georgic, liturgy, metallurgy, organ, surgeon, wright.

Noun

1. Labour, employment, occupation, job.

   My work involves a lot of travel.

2. The place where one is employed.

   He hasn’t come home yet, he’s still at work.

3. Effort expended on a particular task.

   Holding a brick over your head is hard work.

   It takes a lot of work to write a dictionary.

4. A measure of energy expended in moving an object; most commonly, force*distance. No work is done if the object does not move.

   Work is done against friction to drag a bag along the ground.

5. A nonthermal First Law energy in transit between one form or repository and another. Also, a means of accomplishing such transit..
6. A literary, artistic, or intellectual production.

   It is a work of art.

7. A fortification.

   William the Conqueror fortified many castles, throwing up new ramparts, bastions and all manner of works.

8. The staging of events to appear as real.

Etymology 2

Old English wyrċan, cognate with Old Frisian werka, wirka, Old Saxon wirkian (Dutch werken), Old High German wurken (German wirken), Old Norse yrkja (Swedish yrka), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌺𐌾𐌰𐌽.

Verb

1. To do a specific task by employing physical or mental powers.

   He’s working in a bar.

   1. Followed by in. Said of one's workplace (building), or one's department, or one's trade (sphere of business).

      • I work in a national park.

        She works in the human resources department.

        He mostly works in logging, but sometimes works in carpentry.

   2. Followed by as. Said of one's job title

      • I work as a cleaner.

   3. Followed by for. Said of a company or individual who employs.

      • She works for Microsoft.

        He works for the president.

   4. Followed by with. General use, said of either fellow employees or instruments or clients.

      • I work closely with my Canadian counterparts.

        I work with computers.

        I work with the homeless people from the suburbs.

2. To effect by gradual degrees.

   He worked his way through the crowd.

   The dye worked its way through.

3. To embroider with thread.
4. To set into action.

   He worked the levers.

5. To cause to ferment.
6. To exhaust, by working.

   the mine was worked until the last scrap of ore had been extracted.

7. To shape, form, or improve a material.

   He used pliers to work the wire into shape.

8. To operate in a certain place, area, or speciality.

   She works the night clubs.

   The salesman works the Midwest.

   This artist works mostly in acrylics.

9. To operate in or through; as, to work the phones.
10. To provoke or excite; to influence.

    The rock musician worked the crowd of young girls into a frenzy.

11. To use or manipulate to one’s advantage.

    She knows how to work the system.

12. To cause to happen or to occur as a consequence.

    I cannot work a miracle.

13. To cause to work.

    He is working his servants hard.

14. To function correctly; to act as intended; to achieve the goal designed for.

    He pointed at the car and asked, "Does it work"?

    He looked at the bottle of pain pills, wondering if they would work.

    My plan didn’t work.

15. (figuratively) To influence.

    They worked on her to join the group.

16. To effect by gradual degrees; as, to work into the earth.
17. To move in an agitated manner.

    His fingers worked with tension.

18. To behave in a certain way when handled;

    This dough does not work easily.

    The soft metal works well.