work
noun
had been working
-
past perfect progressiveof work.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The institute’s local Iraqi staff, members of the League for Youth, had been working successfully with the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
The National Park Service at that time had been working to remove algae that had covered the pool bottom shortly after the renovation work was finished.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
"We need frameworks, and this clearly lies, in terms of responsibility, in the hands of governments," Caine added, noting that Thales had been working on AI research for decades.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
Zbur had been working on his own coastal development and public access bill and trying to assemble Santa Monica’s LCP.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
He had been working on the chemistry of nucleic acids in Copenhagen—“a complete flop,” as he would later describe it—but Wilkins’s photograph entranced him.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
