paperwork
Americannoun
noun
Usage
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.
Etymology
Origin of paperwork
Explanation
Any task you do that involves many pieces of paper (like paying bills or filling out forms) is called paperwork. Some jobs feel like they're nothing but paperwork. If your teacher does paperwork while your class takes an exam, he might grade papers, fill out applications for grant money, or organize the many sheets of paper he's accumulated over the semester. When paperwork was coined in the sixteenth century, it meant "things made of paper." By the late 1800s, it came to mean "work done on paper." Paperwork is less common today, as work is increasingly done electronically — it may be time for a new word!
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 paperwork outranks the will,” in military life, he says.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Certification for CalFresh requires paperwork to prove residency and income, along with an interview that has to be held in real time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
As Moscow presses along several fronts, Ukrainian commanders complain they are increasingly being saddled with paperwork and struggling to effectively carry out orders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Green had known he was adopted since he was 10 years old - his adopted parents had shown him the paperwork.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
“I’ve been volunteering here for 6 months. People fill out an adoption form. If I have time, I put it in the computer. But all the paperwork is filed by date in here.”
From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
