Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

29 N‑PLURAL Works are activities such as digging the ground or building on a large scale. □  …six years of disruptive building works, road construction and urban development.

30 → see also working

31 PHRASE If someone is at work they are doing their job or are busy doing a particular activity. □  The salvage teams are already hard at work trying to deal with the spilled oil. □  Television cameras were invited in to film him at work.

32 PHRASE If a force or process is at work , it is having a particular influence or effect. □  It's worth being aware of the psychological forces at work during the evening.

33 PHRASE If you say that you will have your work cut out to do something, you mean that it will be a very difficult task. □ [+ for ] The new administration has its work cut out for it. □  He will have his work cut out to get into the team.

34 PHRASE If something is in the works , it has already been planned or begun. [mainly AM ] □  He said there were dozens of economic plans in the works. in BRIT, usually use in the pipeline

35 PHRASE You can use work to talk about how easily or quickly a particular task is done. For example, if a person or thing makes short work of doing something or makes light work of it, they do it quickly and easily. □  An aerosol spray will make short work of painting awkward objects. □  This horse made light work of the cross-country course.

36 PHRASE If you put someone to work or set them to work , you give them a job or task to do. □  By stimulating the economy, we're going to put people to work. □  Instead of sending them to prison, we have set them to work helping the lemon growers.

37 PHRASE If you get to work , go to work , or set to work on a job, task, or problem, you start doing it or dealing with it. □  He promised to get to work on the state's massive deficit. □  He returned to America where he set to work on a new novel.

38 PHRASE If you work your way somewhere, you move or progress there slowly, and with a lot of effort or work. □  Rescuers were still working their way towards the trapped men. □  Many personnel managers started as secretaries or personnel assistants and worked their way up.

39to throw a spanner in the works → see spanner

▸  work in or work into PHRASAL VERB If you work one substance into another or work it in , you add it to the other substance and mix the two together thoroughly. □ [V n P ] Gradually pour the liquid into the flour, working it in carefully with a wooden spoon. □ [V P n] Work in the potato and milk until the mixture comes together. □ [V n P n] Work the oil gradually into the yolks with a wooden spoon.

▸  work off

1 PHRASAL VERB If you work off energy, stress, or anger, you get rid of it by doing something that requires a lot of physical effort. □ [V P n] She went for a brisk walk to work off her frustration. □ [V n P ] If I've had a bad day I'll work it off by cooking.

2 PHRASAL VERB If you work off a debt, you repay it by working. □ [V P n] The report proposes that students be allowed to work off their debt through community service. □ [V n P ] There were heavy debts. It would take half Edward's lifetime to work them off.

▸  work out