works

British  

/ wɜːks /

plural noun

1. (often functioning as singular) a place where a number of people are employed, such as a factory

2. the sum total of a writer's or artist's achievements, esp when considered together

   the works of Shakespeare

3. the deeds of a person, esp virtuous or moral deeds performed as religious acts

   works of charity

4. the interior parts of the mechanism of a machine, etc

   the works of a clock

5. informal in preparation

6. See spanner

7. slang

   1. full or extreme treatment

   2. a very violent physical beating

      to give someone the works

8. slang a syringe

9. (modifier) of or denoting a racing car, etc, that is officially entered by a manufacturer in an event

   a works entry

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Example Sentences

In 1950, The Stanley Works manufacturing complex in New Britain, Conn., stretched down Myrtle Street and employed close to 5,000 people.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

“This is more about bringing Shake Shack customers back” to try something new, said Izzy Kharasch, president of Hospitality Works, a Chicago-based restaurant-consulting firm.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 29, 2026

“This pilot program goes beyond reducing permit costs,” Board of Public Works President and City Film Liaison Steve Kang said in a statement.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026

Works sold less than five years after they were bought returned 7% on average, 3.5% within 10 years, and 1.4% within 20.

From Barron's • Apr. 17, 2026

Studied at the Lyceum of Nezhin, went to St. Petersburg in 1828 where he entered, in 1829, the civil service, in the Department of Public Works for the Ministry of the Interior.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri