Worked, wrought both apply to something on which effort has been applied. Worked implies expended effort of almost any kind: a worked silver mine. Wrought implies fashioning, molding, or making, especially of metals: wrought iron.

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OTHER WORDS FROM worked

un·worked, adjectivewell-worked, adjective

Words nearby worked

workbench, workboat, workbook, workbox, workday, worked, worked up, worked up, be, worked-up, worker, worker director

Definition for worked (2 of 2)

work

[ wurk ]

/ wɜrk /

noun

exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something; labor; toil.

productive or operative activity.

employment, as in some form of industry, especially as a means of earning one's livelihood: to look for work.

one's place of employment: Don't phone him at work.

something on which exertion or labor is expended; a task or undertaking: The students finished their work in class.

materials, things, etc., on which one is working or is to work.

the result of exertion, labor, or activity; a deed or performance.

a product of exertion, labor, or activity: musical works.

Often works. an engineering structure, as a building or bridge.

a building, wall, trench, or the like, constructed or made as a means of fortification.

works,

(used with a singular or plural verb) a place or establishment for manufacturing (often used in combination): ironworks.
the working parts of a machine: the works of a watch.
Theology. righteous deeds.

Physics. force times the distance through which it acts; specifically, the transference of energy equal to the product of the component of a force that acts in the direction of the motion of the point of application of the force and the distance through which the point of application moves.

the works, Informal.

everything; all related items or matters: a hamburger with the works.
harsh or cruel treatment: to give someone the works.

adjective

of, for, or concerning work: work clothes.

shaped and planed; working.

verb (used without object), worked or (Archaic) wrought; working.

to do work; labor.

to be employed, especially as a means of earning one's livelihood: He hasn't worked for six weeks.

to be in operation, as a machine: The water should not be disconnected while the pump is working.

to act or operate effectively: We all agree that this plan works.

to attain a specified condition, as by repeated movement: The nails worked loose.

to have an effect or influence, as on a person or on the mind or feelings of a person.

to move in agitation, as the features under strong emotion.

to make way with effort or under stress: The ship works to windward.

Nautical. to give slightly at the joints, as a vessel under strain at sea.

Machinery. to move improperly, as from defective fitting of parts or from wear.

to undergo treatment by labor in a given way: This dough works slowly.

to ferment, as a liquid.

verb (used with object), worked or ( Archaic except for 29, 31, 34 ) wrought; working.

to use or manage (an apparatus, contrivance, etc.): It is easy to work the camera in this mobile device. She can work many power tools.

to bring about (any result) by or as by work or effort: to work a change.

to manipulate or treat by labor: to work butter.

to put into effective operation.

to operate (a mine, farm, etc.) for productive purposes: to work a coal mine.

to carry on operations in (a district or region).

to make, fashion, or execute by work.

to achieve or win by work or effort: to work one's passage.

to keep (a person, a horse, etc.) at work: She works her employees hard.

to cause a strong emotion in: to work a crowd into a frenzy.

to influence or persuade, especially insidiously: to work other people to one's will.

Informal. to exploit (someone or something) to one's advantage: See if you can work your uncle for a new car. He worked his charm in landing a new job.

to make or decorate by needlework or embroidery: She worked a needlepoint cushion.

to cause fermentation in.

Verb Phrases

work in/into,

to bring or put in; add, merge, or blend: The tailor worked in the patch skillfully. Work the cream into the hands until it is completely absorbed.
to arrange a time or employment for: The dentist was very busy, but said she would be able to work me in late in the afternoon. They worked him into the new operation.

work off,

to lose or dispose of, as by exercise or labor: We decided to work off the effects of a heavy supper by walking for an hour.
to pay or fulfill by working: He worked off his debt by doing odd jobs.

work on/upon, to exercise influence on; persuade; affect: I'll work on her, and maybe she'll change her mind.

work out,

to bring about by work, effort, or action.
to solve, as a problem.
to arrive at by or as by calculation.
to pay (a debt) by working instead of paying money.
to exhaust, as a mine.
to issue in a result.
to evolve; elaborate.
to amount to (a total or specified figure); add up (to): The total works out to 176.
to prove effective or successful: Their marriage just didn't work out.
to practice, exercise, or train, especially in order to become proficient in an athletic sport: The boxers are working out at the gym tonight.

work over,

to study or examine thoroughly: For my term paper I worked over 30 volumes of Roman history.
Informal. to beat unsparingly, especially in order to obtain something or out of revenge: They threatened to work him over until he talked.

work through, to deal with successfully; come to terms with: to work through one's feelings of guilt.

work up,

to move or stir the feelings; excite.
to prepare; elaborate: Work up some plans.
to increase in efficiency or skill: He worked up his typing speed to 70 words a minute.

work up to, rise to a higher position; advance: He worked up to the presidency.

Origin of work

before 900; (noun) Middle English worke, Old English worc, replacing Middle English werk(e), Old English weorc, cognate with Old Frisian, Old Saxon werk, Old High German werah, werc (German Werk), Old Norse verk, Greek érgon; (v.) Middle English worken, derivative of the noun, replacing Middle English wyrchen, Old English wyrcean; cognate with German wirken, Old Norse verkja, Gothic waurkjan

SYNONYMS FOR work

1 Work, drudgery, labor, toil refer to exertion of body or mind in performing or accomplishing something. Work is the general word and may apply to exertion that is either easy or hard: fun work; heavy work. Drudgery suggests continuous, dreary, and dispiriting work, especially of a menial or servile kind: the drudgery of household tasks. Labor particularly denotes hard manual work: labor on a farm, in a steel mill. Toil suggests wearying or exhausting labor: toil that breaks down the worker's health.

5 enterprise, project, job, responsibility.

2 industry, occupation, business.

3 job, trade, calling, vocation, profession.

7 product, achievement, feat.

16 toil, drudge.

28 operate, manipulate, handle.

29 accomplish, effect, produce, achieve.

34 finish, form, shape.

38 move.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR work ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR work

1 play, rest.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR work ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM work

non·work, nounpre·work, verb, pre·worked or pre·wrought, pre·work·ing.pre·work, noun, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for worked

When Chérif got out of prison, he worked at the fish counter of a supermarket.
France Mourns—and Hunts|Nico Hines, Christopher Dickey|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Not actual CIA agents, but U.S. government personnel who have worked very closely with the CIA, and who are fans of the show.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS|Marlow Stern|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The police learned that Kemp worked in a grocery on Decatur Avenue.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown|Michael Daly|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
These were cops who had worked the protests and suffered the accompanying verbal taunts and abuse.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown|Michael Daly|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST

They worked just as hard on that as the people who made the good movie did.
Patton Oswalt on Fighting Conservatives With Satire|William O’Connor|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
For years, she worked assiduously with the little boy's education.
The Outlaw of Torn|Edgar Rice Burroughs
The etchings on the plates to The Poetical Magazine were worked fairly away and renewed.
Rowlandson the Caricaturist. First Volume|Joseph Grego
Scarcely a religious system has existed that has not worked effectively and proved true for someone.
First and Last Things|H. G. Wells
And Athalie worked in her garden and strayed far afield, both driving and afoot.
Athalie|Robert W. Chambers
In this way the Bible has worked moral miracles by thousands.
Practical Religion|John Charles Ryle

British Dictionary definitions for worked (1 of 2)

worked

/ (wɜːkt) /

adjective

made or decorated with evidence of workmanship; wrought, as with embroidery or tracery

British Dictionary definitions for worked (2 of 2)

work

/ (wɜːk) /

noun

physical or mental effort directed towards doing or making something

paid employment at a job or a trade, occupation, or profession

a duty, task, or undertaking

something done, made, etc, as a result of effort or exertiona work of art

materials or tasks on which to expend effort or exertion

another word for workmanship (def. 3)

the place, office, etc, where a person is employed

any piece of material that is undergoing a manufacturing operation or process; workpiece

decoration or ornamentation, esp of a specified kind
(in combination)wirework; woolwork

an engineering structure such as a bridge, building, etc

physics the transfer of energy expressed as the product of a force and the distance through which its point of application moves in the direction of the forceAbbreviation: W, w

a structure, wall, etc, built or used as part of a fortification system

at work

at one's job or place of employment
in action; operating

make short work of informal to handle or dispose of very quickly

(modifier) of, relating to, or used for workwork clothes; a work permit

verb

(intr) to exert effort in order to do, make, or perform something

(intr) to be employed

(tr) to carry on operations, activity, etc, in (a place or area)that salesman works the southern region

(tr) to cause to labour or toilhe works his men hard

to operate or cause to operate, esp properly or effectivelyto work a lathe; that clock doesn't work

(tr) to till or cultivate (land)

to handle or manipulate or be handled or manipulatedto work dough

to shape, form, or process or be shaped, formed, or processedto work copper

to reach or cause to reach a specific condition, esp graduallythe rope worked loose

(tr) mainly US and Canadian to solve (a mathematical problem)

(intr) to move in agitationhis face worked with anger

(tr often foll by up) to provoke or arouseto work someone into a frenzy

(tr) to effect or accomplishto work one's revenge

to make (one's way) with efforthe worked his way through the crowd

(tr) to make or decorate by hand in embroidery, tapestry, etcshe was working a sampler

(intr) (of a mechanism) to move in a loose or otherwise imperfect fashion

(intr) (of liquids) to ferment, as in brewing

(tr) informal to manipulate or exploit to one's own advantage

(tr) slang to cheat or swindle

Derived forms of work

workless, adjectiveworklessness, noun

Word Origin for work

Old English weorc (n), wircan, wyrcan (vb); related to Old High German wurchen, German wirken, Old Norse yrkja, Gothic waurkjan

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for worked

work

[ wûrk ]

The transfer of energy from one object to another, especially in order to make the second object move in a certain direction. Work is equal to the amount of force multiplied by the distance over which it is applied. If a force of 10 newtons, for example, is applied over a distance of 3 meters, the work is equal to 30 newtons per meter, or 30 joules. The unit for measuring work is the same as that for energy in any system of units, since work is simply a transfer of energy. Compare energy power.

Cultural definitions for worked

work

In physics, the product of a force applied, and the distance through which that force acts.

Idioms and Phrases with worked

work

In addition to the idioms beginning with work

work both sides of the street
worked up, be
work in
work it
work like a beaver
work like a charm
work off
work on
work one's fingers to the bone
work one's way
work out
work over
work up
work wonders

also see:

all in a day's work
all work and no play
at work
busy work
dirty work
get down to (work)
good works
gum up (the works)
have one's work cut out
in the works
make short work of
many hands make light work
out of work
shoot the works
the works
turn (work) out all right

MEANINGS

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adjective

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Origin of worked

SYNONYMS FOR worked

OTHER WORDS FROM worked

Words nearby worked

Definition for worked (2 of 2)

noun

adjective

verb (used without object), worked or (Archaic) wrought; working.

verb (used with object), worked or ( Archaic except for 29, 31, 34 ) wrought; working.

Verb Phrases

Origin of work

SYNONYMS FOR work

ANTONYMS FOR work

OTHER WORDS FROM work

Example sentences from the Web for worked

British Dictionary definitions for worked (1 of 2)

adjective

British Dictionary definitions for worked (2 of 2)

noun

verb

Derived forms of work

Word Origin for work

Scientific definitions for worked

Cultural definitions for worked

Idioms and Phrases with worked

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

worked

adjective

QUIZZES

PRACTICE SOME ESCAPISM WITH THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!

Origin of worked

SYNONYMS FOR worked

OTHER WORDS FROM worked

Words nearby worked

Definition for worked (2 of 2)

noun

adjective

verb (used without object), worked or (Archaic) wrought; working.

verb (used with object), worked or ( Archaic except for 29, 31, 34 ) wrought; working.

Verb Phrases

Origin of work

SYNONYMS FOR work

ANTONYMS FOR work

OTHER WORDS FROM work

Words related to worked

Example sentences from the Web for worked

British Dictionary definitions for worked (1 of 2)

adjective

British Dictionary definitions for worked (2 of 2)

noun

verb

Derived forms of work

Word Origin for work

Scientific definitions for worked

Cultural definitions for worked

Idioms and Phrases with worked