work in
Britishverb
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to insert or become inserted
she worked the patch in carefully
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(tr) to find space for
I'll work this job in during the day
noun
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Insert or introduce, as in As part of their presentation they worked in a request for funding the exhibit . Similarly, work into means “insert or introduce into something else,” as in She worked more flour into the mixture . [Late 1600s]
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Make time for in a schedule, as in The dentist said he would try to work her in this morning . Here, too, work into is sometimes used, as in She had to work two emergency cases into her morning schedule . [Mid-1700s]
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 school’s principal, Mark Dangora, said adding more downtime is still a work in progress.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Some of these measures have started to work in Moscow and other regions in recent days, according to drivers and AFP observations.
From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026
Visitors will enter via a mezzanine which means they will be able to see the entire length of the work in one go from afar.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Real masculinity is proven in the work, in the results, in the people you protect, and it does not need a camera to exist.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
The Middle Passage refers to the forced voyage of people from Africa to the Americas, where they would be made to work in horrendous conditions and held in bondage for the rest of their lives.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
