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 book’s throughline is her friendship with Bill, an academic loner whose meticulous work in the field caught her attention.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
"I work in event promotion, I think giving yourself an aesthetic, something to cling to, something that people can watch is really important in the music industry, it makes you stand out," he says.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
"Volunteers, health workers, and humanitarian staff must be able to carry out their work in complete safety, without fear of violence, intimidation, or threats."
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
H1-Bs are the primary pathway for high-skilled foreign professionals to work in the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Sure, there were a few Soviet agents at work in the United States.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
