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outwork

[ verb out-wurk; noun out-wurk ]
/ verb ˌaʊtˈwɜrk; noun ˈaʊtˌwɜrk /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR outwork ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), out·worked or out·wrought, out·work·ing.

to work harder, better, or faster than.
to work out or carry on to a conclusion; finish: a problem to be outworked in after generations.
Archaic. to outdo in workmanship.

noun

a minor defense built or established outside the principal fortification limits.

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Origin of outwork

1200–50; Middle English: to complete; see out-, work

OTHER WORDS FROM outwork

outworker, noun

Words nearby outwork

outweigh, outwent, outwit, outwith, out with it, outwork, outworn, outwrite, outyear, ouzel, ouzo
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to outwork

mainstay, bastion, fortress, redoubt, stronghold, parapet, barrier, protection, partition, buffet, citadel, guard, defense, embankment, rampart, security, safeguard, buttress, fort, vallation

Example sentences from the Web for outwork

British Dictionary definitions for outwork

outwork

noun (ˈaʊtˌwɜːk)

(often plural) defences which lie outside main defensive works
work performed away from the factory, office, etc, by which it has been commissioned

verb (ˌaʊtˈwɜːk) -works, -working, -worked or -wrought (tr)

to work better, harder, etc, than
to work out to completion

Derived forms of outwork

outworker, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012