working papers
Americanplural noun
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legal papers often required for employment, as by an immigrant worker or temporary employee.
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legal papers enabling a minor in the United States to work under certain conditions.
plural noun
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papers or notes showing the intermediate stages of a proposal, solution, etc, arrived at or being worked on
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legal documents that certain people in some countries must possess to be allowed to work
Etymology
Origin of working papers
First recorded in 1925–30
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.
Two new working papers circulated by the authoritative National Bureau of Economic Research show the double squeeze the U.S. dollar and the Treasury market are facing both overseas and at home.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
Clients’ agents will collect supporting details and send them to EY’s agents, which will use that to prepare working papers that are then reviewed by humans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
They are hoping he can get working papers as soon as possible.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 7, 2023
Information about that account, Mr. Barofsky wrote, was “among the working papers that were compiled during the bank’s prior investigations in the 1990s,” which he said called into question Credit Suisse’s candor at the time.
From New York Times ● Apr. 18, 2023
The result was that the animals, like us, got their working papers.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
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