Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

wordy /wɜː ^r di/ ADJ If you describe a person's speech or something that they write as wordy , you disapprove of the fact that they use too many words, especially words which are very long, formal, or literary. [DISAPPROVAL ] □  The chapter is mostly wordy rhetoric.

wore /wɔː ^r / Wore is the past tense of wear .

work ◆◆◆ /wɜː ^r k/ (works , working , worked )

1 VERB People who work have a job, usually one which they are paid to do. □ [V prep/adv] He works for the U.S. Department of Transport. □ [V prep/adv] I started working in a recording studio. □ [V ] Where do you work? □ [V + as ] He worked as a bricklayer's mate. □ [V ] I want to work, I don't want to be on welfare.

2 N‑UNCOUNT [oft in/out of N ] People who have work or who are in work have a job, usually one which they are paid to do. □  Fewer and fewer people are in work. □  I was out of work at the time. □  She'd have enough money to provide for her children until she could find work.

3 VERB When you work , you do the things that you are paid or required to do in your job. □ [V ] I can't talk to you right now–I'm working. □ [V prep/adv] He was working at his desk. □ [V n] Some firms expect the guards to work twelve hours a day.

4 N‑UNCOUNT Your work consists of the things you are paid or required to do in your job. □  We're supposed to be running a business here. I've got work to do. □  I used to take work home, but I don't do it any more. □  There have been days when I have finished work at 2pm.

5 VERB When you work , you spend time and effort doing a task that needs to be done or trying to achieve something. □ [V prep] Linda spends all her time working on the garden. □ [V prep] The most important reason for coming to university is to work for a degree. □ [V prep] The government expressed hope that all the sides will work towards a political solution. ● N‑UNCOUNT Work is also a noun. □  There was a lot of work to do on their house. □  We hadn't appreciated how much work was involved in organizing a wedding.

6 N‑UNCOUNT [usu to/at N ] Work is the place where you do your job. □  Many people travel to work by car. □  She told her friends at work that she was trying to lose weight.

7 N‑UNCOUNT Work is something which you produce as a result of an activity or as a result of doing your job. □  It can help to have an impartial third party look over your work. □  Tidiness in the workshop is really essential for producing good work.

8 N‑COUNT A work is something such as a painting, book, or piece of music produced by an artist, writer, or composer. □  In my opinion, this is Rembrandt's greatest work.

9 VERB If someone is working on a particular subject or question, they are studying or researching it. □ [V + on ] Professor Bonnet has been working for many years on molecules of this type. ● N‑UNCOUNT Work is also a noun. □  Our work shows that 10 per cent of families were behind on their rent or mortgage.

10 VERB If you work with a person or a group of people, you spend time and effort trying to help them in some way. □ [V + with/among ] She spent a period of time working with people dying of cancer. ● N‑UNCOUNT [usu poss N ] Work is also a noun. □ [+ among ] She became involved in social and relief work among the refugees.