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.
We’re fighting a society that wants to keep our work in the dark, to pretend that this isn’t happening, that it can be abolished by throwing people into prison.
From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026
Citing a potential conflict of interest over her husband’s work in television, Raman refrained from voting on several motions related to Hollywood.
From Los Angeles Times • May 17, 2026
The couple were free to walk out of the courtroom, but were ordered to each undertake 100 hours of unpaid work in the community.
From BBC • May 15, 2026
It was Rossini’s first major work in more than 20 years.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
She and Dad both work in the English department at Hempstead, but Dad teaches upper-level literature courses and Mom teaches first-year writing classes.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
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.
