paperwork

[pey-per-wurk]

noun

1. written or clerical work, as records or reports, forming a necessary but often a routine and secondary part of some work or job.

paperwork

/ ˈpeɪpəˌwɜːk /

noun

1. clerical work, such as the completion of forms or the writing of reports or letters

Word History and Origins

Origin of paperwork¹

First recorded in 1580–90; paper + work

Example Sentences

She named 1,774 incidents where staff were supported in responding to situations where patients could otherwise have come to some serious harm, adding that the system helped to free up staff time from paperwork.

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"It's just clear to us that the current importing systems were not prepared to handle the sheer amount of volume and paperwork."

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Some of us had spent years plodding through paperwork and interviews, as well as preparing for the citizenship test.

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Staying in France was intriguing to a young Kurata, but the struggles of visas and paperwork deterred her.

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She’s quick to share her regret at not bringing her license renewal paperwork with her: “I remembered too late,” she says.

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Related Words

• filing www.thesaurus.com

When To Use

What does paperwork mean?

Paperwork is the task of filling out forms, especially when they’re literally on paper.More generally, paperwork refers to routine clerical and administrative work like recordkeeping and processing documents (regardless of whether they’re on paper).Paperwork can be done as part of one’s job (the boring part), or in any setting that involves filling out forms, such as buying a house or a car or applying for a job. Doing so is often referred to as filling out (the) paperwork, doing (the) paperwork, or completing (the) paperwork.Paperwork is a collective noun, meaning it appears in a singular form but refers to such tasks as a group.Example: Applying for a job with the government required her to fill out an incredible amount of paperwork about her family history, education, and travel activity.