WORK ON

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

I. (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Shape, form, or improve a material

Example:

work the metal

Synonyms:

process; work; work on

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "work on" is one way to...):

transform; transmute; transubstantiate (change or alter in form, appearance, or nature)

Verb group:

forge; form; mold; mould; shape; work (make something, usually for a specific function)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "work on"):

hot-work (roll, press, forge, or shape (metal) while hot)

cold work; coldwork (shape (metal) without heat)

overwork (use too much)

make over; retread; rework (use again in altered form)

rack (work on a rack)

tool (work with a tool)

till (work land as by ploughing, harrowing, and manuring, in order to make it ready for cultivation)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

To exert effort in order to do, make, or perform something

Example:

the child worked at the multiplication table until she had it down cold

Synonyms:

work at; work on

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "work on" is one way to...):

work (exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "work on"):

belabor; belabour (to work at or to absurd length)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Credits

Context examples:

The researchers will now work on developed modifications for other common household formaldehyde, which is present in glues, woodsmoke, and furniture.

(Common Houseplant with Genetic Modification Can Remove Polluted Air, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

“No,” said Agnes, quietly pursuing the work on which she was engaged.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Time and absence had done its work on both the young people.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Researchers who work on monitoring and forecasting harmful algae blooms say the findings offer an increased understanding of the phenomenon, and will help predict domoic acid events in response to climate change.

(Scientists discover genetic basis for how harmful algae blooms become toxic, National Science Foundation)

The researchers continue to work on their model to make the batteries viable candidates for extending electric cars' driving range.

(New, high-energy rechargeable batteries, NSF)

But I have long thought Mr. Bertram one of the worst subjects to work on, in any little manoeuvre against common sense, that a woman could be plagued with.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

An interconnected computer network whose combined resources may be harnessed to work on difficult problems.

(Grid, NCI Thesaurus)

The mark which he was examining began upon the brass-work on the right-hand side of the keyhole, and extended for about four inches, where it had scratched the varnish from the surface.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Anticoagulants, such as heparin or warfarin (also called Coumadin), work on chemical reactions in your body to lengthen the time it takes to form a blood clot.

(Blood Thinners, NIH)

Princeton University scientists who were conducting their field work on the island of Daphne Major, noticed a non-native male bird — cactus finches — on the island in 1981.