work at

work at
verb
to exert effort in order to do, make, or perform something (Freq. 6)
-

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

Syn: ↑work on
Hypernyms: ↑work
Hyponyms: ↑belabor, ↑belabour
Verb Frames:
-

Somebody ——s something

* * *

phrasal
: to be engaged or employed in : practice

trained as a carpenter but seldom works at it

less attractive girls must work harder at being popular — Lester David

* * *

work at
To apply oneself to
• • •
Main Entry:work

* * *

ˈwork at [transitive] [present tense I/you/we/they work at he/she/it works at present participle working at past tense worked at past participle worked at] phrasal verb
to try hard to develop or improve something

If she works at improving her game, she could be a champion.

Successful relationships don’t just happen – you have to work at them.

Thesaurus: to work hardsynonym
Main entry: work

* * *

work at [phrasal verb]
work at (something) : to make an effort to do (something) better

He needs to work at his handwriting.

She has been working (harder) at controlling her temper.

• • •
Main Entry:work

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • work — [wʉrk] n. [ME werk < OE weorc, akin to Ger werk < IE base * werĝ , to do, act > Gr ergon (for * wergon), action, work, organon, tool, instrument] 1. physical or mental effort exerted to do or make something; purposeful activity; labor;… …   English World dictionary

  • Work — (w[^u]rk), n. [OE. work, werk, weorc, AS. weorc, worc; akin to OFries. werk, wirk, OS., D., & G. werk, OHG. werc, werah, Icel. & Sw. verk, Dan. v[ae]rk, Goth. gawa[ u]rki, Gr. e rgon, [digamma]e rgon, work, re zein to do, o rganon an instrument,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Work — may refer to: Human labor: Employment House work Labor (economics), measure of the work done by human beings Manual labor, physical work done by people Wage labor, in which a worker sells their labor and an employer buys it Work (project… …   Wikipedia

  • work — n 1 Work, labor, travail, toil, drudgery, grind are comparable when they mean effort or exertion directed to the accomplishment of an end, or an employment or activity which involves such expenditure of effort or exertion. Work is the most… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Work — (w[^u]rk), v. t. 1. To labor or operate upon; to give exertion and effort to; to prepare for use, or to utilize, by labor. [1913 Webster] He could have told them of two or three gold mines, and a silver mine, and given the reason why they forbare …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • work — ► NOUN 1) activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a result. 2) such activity as a means of earning income. 3) a task or tasks to be undertaken. 4) a thing or things done or made; the result of an action. 5) (works)… …   English terms dictionary

  • Work — (w[^u]rk), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Worked} (w[^u]rkt), or {Wrought} (r[add]t); p. pr. & vb. n. {Working}.] [AS. wyrcean (imp. worthe, wrohte, p. p. geworht, gewroht); akin to OFries. werka, wirka, OS. wirkian, D. werken, G. wirken, Icel. verka,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • work — [n1] labor, chore assignment, attempt, commission, daily grind*, drudge, drudgery, effort, elbow grease*, endeavor, exertion, functioning, grind, grindstone*, industry, job, moil, muscle, obligation, pains*, performance, production, push, salt… …   New thesaurus

  • Work — Título Charlot, empapelador o Carlitos empapelador o Charlot trabaja Ficha técnica Dirección Charles Chaplin …   Wikipedia Español

  • Work It — «Work It» Sencillo de Nelly y Justin Timberlake del álbum Nellyville Formato Disco compacto Género(s) Rap Duración 4:22 …   Wikipedia Español

  • work it — informal phrase to arrange for something to happen I’ll try and work it so we can leave early today. Thesaurus: to make plans or arrangementssynonym Main entry: work * * * ˈwork it/things …   Useful english dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”