workaholic

American  

[wurk-uh-haw-lik, -hol-ik] / ˌwɜrk əˈhɔ lɪk, -ˈhɒl ɪk /

noun

• workaholics
  plural

1. a person who works compulsively at the expense of other pursuits.

---

workaholic British  

/ ˌwɜːkəˈhɒlɪk /

noun

1. 1. a person obsessively addicted to work

   2. ( as modifier )

      workaholic behaviour

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• workaholism
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• workaholics
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of workaholic

First recorded in 1965–70; work + -aholic

---

Explanation

A workaholic is someone who can't stop working. Workaholics are obsessed with working to an unhealthy degree. Just as an alcoholic has an unhealthy addiction to alcohol, workaholics have an unhealthy addiction to work. Wanting to work all the time might sound like a harmless desire, but for some people it's a real problem. A workaholic goes to work early and stays late. A workaholic might have trouble relaxing. Many workaholics neglect their families and friends because all they care about is work. Workaholics take a good thing — working — too far.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

workaholic workaholics

A self-diagnosed workaholic, Tomlinson spent 10 years constantly moving.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

For “King of the Hill,” he built an entire town out of workaholic marks and conspiratorial morons, and never once sneered at them across 13 seasons.

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026

Japan will ease overtime regulation starting Tuesday in a move meant to help spur economic growth but criticised as a relapse into the country's ingrained workaholic culture.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

Musk, who wears the mantle of a workaholic proudly, has often said he's not in business simply to make money - claims he repeated recently with regard to his Twitter takeover.

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026

Mom’s boss is an unstoppable robot workaholic lawyer, so this happens a lot.

From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli

I feel like we all subconsciously know that it’s not good for us to be relentless workaholics, to always be striving, always moving our own goal posts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026

Only workaholics and delusional optimists should organize a Venice Biennale, as the Brazilian curator Adriano Pedrosa discovered during the countless flights and midnight meetings that have crammed his calendar for the past two years.

From New York Times ● Apr. 10, 2024

Of the workaholics who shared their stories with the BBC, many say the meetings often have more women than men in attendance.

From BBC ● Mar. 15, 2024

But Dad and I had common ground: we were both workaholics.

From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2022

They were obviously both workaholics — another more modern term.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2022

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---