What is "work"

Work \Work\ (w[^u]rk), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Worked (w[^u]rkt), or Wrought (r[add]t); p. pr. & vb. n. Working.] [AS. wyrcean (imp. worthe, wrohte, p. p. geworht, gewroht); akin to OFries. werka, wirka, OS. wirkian, D. werken, G. wirken, Icel. verka, yrkja, orka, Goth. wa['u]rkjan. [root]145. See Work, n.]

1. To exert one's self for a purpose; to put forth effort for the attainment of an object; to labor; to be engaged in the performance of a task, a duty, or the like.

   O thou good Kent, how shall I live and work, To match thy goodness?
   --Shak.

   Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you.
   --Ex. v. 18.

   Whether we work or play, or sleep or wake, Our life doth pass.
   --Sir J. Davies.

2. Hence, in a general sense, to operate; to act; to perform; as, a machine works well.

   We bend to that the working of the heart.
   --Shak.

3. Hence, figuratively, to be effective; to have effect or influence; to conduce.

   We know that all things work together for good to them that love God.
   --Rom. viii. 28.

   This so wrought upon the child, that afterwards he desired to be taught.
   --Locke.

   She marveled how she could ever have been wrought upon to marry him.
   --Hawthorne.

4. To carry on business; to be engaged or employed customarily; to perform the part of a laborer; to labor; to toil.

   They that work in fine flax . . . shall be confounded.
   --Isa. xix. 9.

5. To be in a state of severe exertion, or as if in such a state; to be tossed or agitated; to move heavily; to strain; to labor; as, a ship works in a heavy sea.

   Confused with working sands and rolling waves.
   --Addison.

6. To make one's way slowly and with difficulty; to move or penetrate laboriously; to proceed with effort; -- with a following preposition, as down, out, into, up, through, and the like; as, scheme works out by degrees; to work into the earth.

   Till body up to spirit work, in bounds Proportioned to each kind.
   --Milton.

7. To ferment, as a liquid.

   The working of beer when the barm is put in.
   --Bacon.

8. To act or operate on the stomach and bowels, as a cathartic.

   Purges . . . work best, that is, cause the blood so to do, . . . in warm weather or in a warm room.
   --Grew.

   To work at, to be engaged in or upon; to be employed in.

   To work to windward (Naut.), to sail or ply against the wind; to tack to windward.
   --Mar. Dict.

Work \Work\ (w[^u]rk), v. t.

1. To labor or operate upon; to give exertion and effort to; to prepare for use, or to utilize, by labor.

   He could have told them of two or three gold mines, and a silver mine, and given the reason why they forbare to work them at that time.
   --Sir W. Raleigh.

2. To produce or form by labor; to bring forth by exertion or toil; to accomplish; to originate; to effect; as, to work wood or iron into a form desired, or into a utensil; to work cotton or wool into cloth.

   Each herb he knew, that works or good or ill.
   --Harte.

3. To produce by slow degrees, or as if laboriously; to bring gradually into any state by action or motion. ``Sidelong he works his way.''
   --Milton.

   So the pure, limpid stream, when foul with stains Of rushing torrents and descending rains, Works itself clear, and as it runs, refines, Till by degrees the floating mirror shines.
   --Addison.

4. To influence by acting upon; to prevail upon; to manage; to lead. ``Work your royal father to his ruin.''
   --Philips.

5. To form with a needle and thread or yarn; especially, to embroider; as, to work muslin.

6. To set in motion or action; to direct the action of; to keep at work; to govern; to manage; as, to work a machine.

   Knowledge in building and working ships.
   --Arbuthnot.

   Now, Marcus, thy virtue's the proof; Put forth thy utmost strength, work every nerve.
   --Addison.

   The mariners all 'gan work the ropes, Where they were wont to do.
   --Coleridge.

7. To cause to ferment, as liquor. To work a passage (Naut.), to pay for a passage by doing work. To work double tides (Naut.), to perform the labor of three days in two; -- a phrase which alludes to a practice of working by the night tide as well as by the day. To work in, to insert, introduce, mingle, or interweave by labor or skill. To work into, to force, urge, or insinuate into; as, to work one's self into favor or confidence. To work off, to remove gradually, as by labor, or a gradual process; as, beer works off impurities in fermenting. To work out.

   1. To effect by labor and exertion. ``Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.''
      --Phil. ii. 12.

   2. To erase; to efface. [R.]

      Tears of joy for your returning spilt, Work out and expiate our former guilt.
      --Dryden.

   3. To solve, as a problem.

   4. To exhaust, as a mine, by working. To work up.

      1. To raise; to excite; to stir up; as, to work up the passions to rage.

         The sun, that rolls his chariot o'er their heads, Works up more fire and color in their cheeks.
         --Addison.

      2. To expend in any work, as materials; as, they have worked up all the stock.

      3. (Naut.) To make over or into something else, as yarns drawn from old rigging, made into spun yarn, foxes, sennit, and the like; also, to keep constantly at work upon needless matters, as a crew in order to punish them.
         --R. H. Dana, Jr.

Work \Work\ (w[^u]rk), n. [OE. work, werk, weorc, AS. weorc, worc; akin to OFries. werk, wirk, OS., D., & G. werk, OHG. werc, werah, Icel. & Sw. verk, Dan. v[ae]rk, Goth. gawa['u]rki, Gr. 'e`rgon, [digamma]e`rgon, work, "re`zein to do, 'o`rganon an instrument, 'o`rgia secret rites, Zend verez to work. [root]145. Cf. Bulwark, Energy, Erg, Georgic, Liturgy, Metallurgy, Organ, Orgy, Surgeon, Wright.]

1. Exertion of strength or faculties; physical or intellectual effort directed to an end; industrial activity; toil; employment; sometimes, specifically, physical labor.

   Man hath his daily work of body or mind Appointed.
   --Milton.

2. The matter on which one is at work; that upon which one spends labor; material for working upon; subject of exertion; the thing occupying one; business; duty; as, to take up one's work; to drop one's work.

   Come on, Nerissa; I have work in hand That you yet know not of.
   --Shak.

   In every work that he began . . . he did it with all his heart, and prospered.
   --2 Chron. xxxi. 21.

3. That which is produced as the result of labor; anything accomplished by exertion or toil; product; performance; fabric; manufacture; in a more general sense, act, deed, service, effect, result, achievement, feat.

   To leave no rubs or blotches in the work.
   --Shak.

   The work some praise, And some the architect.
   --Milton.

   Fancy . . . Wild work produces oft, and most in dreams.
   --Milton.

   The composition or dissolution of mixed bodies . . . is the chief work of elements.
   --Sir K. Digby.

4. Specifically:

   1. That which is produced by mental labor; a composition; a book; as, a work, or the works, of Addison.

   2. Flowers, figures, or the like, wrought with the needle; embroidery.

      I am glad I have found this napkin; . . . I'll have the work ta'en out, And give 't Iago.
      --Shak.

   3. pl. Structures in civil, military, or naval engineering, as docks, bridges, embankments, trenches, fortifications, and the like; also, the structures and grounds of a manufacturing establishment; as, iron works; locomotive works; gas works.

   4. pl. The moving parts of a mechanism; as, the works of a watch.

5. Manner of working; management; treatment; as, unskillful work spoiled the effect.
   --Bp. Stillingfleet.

6. (Mech.) The causing of motion against a resisting force. The amount of work is proportioned to, and is measured by, the product of the force into the amount of motion along the direction of the force. See Conservation of energy, under Conservation, Unit of work, under Unit, also Foot pound, Horse power, Poundal, and Erg.

   Energy is the capacity of doing work . . . Work is the transference of energy from one system to another.
   --Clerk Maxwell.

7. (Mining) Ore before it is dressed.
   --Raymond.

8. pl. (Script.) Performance of moral duties; righteous conduct.

   He shall reward every man according to his works.
   --Matt. xvi. 27.

   Faith, if it hath not works, is dead.
   --James ii. 17.

9. (Cricket) Break; twist. [Cant]

10. (Mech.) The causing of motion against a resisting force, measured by the product of the force into the component of the motion resolved along the direction of the force.

    Energy is the capacity of doing work. . . . Work is the transference of energy from one system to another.
    --Clerk Maxwell.

11. (Mining) Ore before it is dressed.

    Muscular work (Physiol.), the work done by a muscle through the power of contraction.

    To go to work, to begin laboring; to commence operations; to contrive; to manage. ``I 'll go another way to work with him.''
    --Shak.

    To set on work, to cause to begin laboring; to set to work. [Obs.]
    --Hooker.

    To set to work, to employ; to cause to engage in any business or labor.

Old English weorc, worc "something done, discreet act performed by someone, action (whether voluntary or required), proceeding, business; that which is made or manufactured, products of labor," also "physical labor, toil; skilled trade, craft, or occupation; opportunity of expending labor in some useful or remunerative way;" also "military fortification," from Proto-Germanic *werkan (cognates: Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Dutch werk, Old Norse verk, Middle Dutch warc, Old High German werah, German Werk, Gothic gawaurki), from PIE *werg-o-, from root *werg- "to do" (see organ).\n\nWork is less boring than amusing oneself.

[Baudelaire, "Mon Coeur mis a nu," 1862]

\nIn Old English, the noun also had the sense of "fornication." Meaning "physical effort, exertion" is from c.1200; meaning "scholarly labor" or its productions is from c.1200; meaning "artistic labor" or its productions is from c.1200. Meaning "labor as a measurable commodity" is from c.1300. Meaning "embroidery, stitchery, needlepoint" is from late 14c. Work of art attested by 1774 as "artistic creation," earlier (1728) "artifice, production of humans (as opposed to nature)." Work ethic recorded from 1959. To be out of work "unemployed" is from 1590s. To make clean work of is from c.1300; to make short work of is from 1640s. Proverbial expression many hands make light work is from c.1300. To have (one's) work cut out for one is from 1610s; to have it prepared and prescribed, hence, to have all one can handle. Work in progress is from 1930 in a general sense, earlier as a specific term in accountancy and parliamentary procedure.

a fusion of Old English wyrcan (past tense worhte, past participle geworht) "prepare, perform, do, make, construct, produce; strive after" (from Proto-Germanic *wurkijan); and Old English wircan (Mercian) "to operate, function, set in motion," a secondary verb formed relatively late from Proto-Germanic noun *werkan (see work (n.)). Sense of "perform physical labor" was in Old English, as was sense "ply one's trade" and "exert creative power, be a creator." Transitive sense "manipulate (physical substances) into a desired state or form" was in Old English. Meaning "have the expected or desired effect" is from late 14c. In Middle English also "perform sexually" (mid-13c.). Related: Worked (15c.); working. To work up "excite" is from c.1600. To work over "beat up, thrash" is from 1927. To work against "attempt to subvert" is from late 14c.

Etymology 1 n. 1 (lb en heading uncountable) ''employment.'' 2 # labour, occupation, job. Etymology 2

vb. 1 (context intransitive English) To do a specific task by employing physical or mental powers. 2 # Followed by ''in'' (or ''at'', etc.) Said of one's workplace (building), or one's department, or one's trade (sphere of business). 3 # Followed by '''as'''. Said of one's job title

1. n. activity directed toward making or doing something; "she checked several points needing further work"

2. a product produced or accomplished through the effort or activity or agency of a person or thing; "it is not regarded as one of his more memorable works"; "the symphony was hailed as an ingenious work"; "he was indebted to the pioneering work of John Dewey"; "the work of an active imagination"; "erosion is the work of wind or water over time" [syn: piece of work]

3. the occupation for which you are paid; "he is looking for employment"; "a lot of people are out of work" [syn: employment]

4. applying the mind to learning and understanding a subject (especially by reading); "mastering a second language requires a lot of work"; "no schools offer graduate study in interior design" [syn: study]

5. the total output of a writer or artist (or a substantial part of it); "he studied the entire Wagnerian oeuvre"; "Picasso's work can be divided into periods" [syn: oeuvre, body of work]

6. a place where work is done; "he arrived at work early today" [syn: workplace]

7. (physics) a manifestation of energy; the transfer of energy from one physical system to another expressed as the product of a force and the distance through which it moves a body in the direction of that force; "work equals force times distance"

8. [also: wrought]

1. v. exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity; "I will work hard to improve my grades"; "she worked hard for better living conditions for the poor" [ant: idle]

2. be employed; "Is your husband working again?"; "My wife never worked"; "Do you want to work after the age of 60?"; "She never did any work because she inherited a lot of money"; "She works as a waitress to put herself through college" [syn: do work]

3. have an effect or outcome; often the one desired or expected; "The voting process doesn't work as well as people thought"; "How does your idea work in practice?"; "This method doesn't work"; "The breaks of my new car act quickly"; "The medicine works only if you take it with a lot of water" [syn: act]

4. perform as expected when applied; "The washing machine won't go unless it's plugged in"; "Does this old car still run well?"; "This old radio doesn't work anymore" [syn: function, operate, go, run] [ant: malfunction]

5. shape, form, or improve a material; "work stone into tools"; "process iron"; "work the metal" [syn: work on, process]

6. give a work-out to; "Some parents exercise their infants"; "My personal trainer works me hard"; "work one's muscles" [syn: exercise, work out]

7. proceed along a path; "work one's way through the crowd"; "make one's way into the forest" [syn: make]

8. operate in a certain place, area, or specialty; "She works the night clubs"; "The salesman works the Midwest"; "This artist works mostly in acrylics"

9. proceed towards a goal or along a path or through an activity; "work your way through every problem or task"; "She was working on her second martini when the guests arrived"; "Start from the bottom and work towards the top"

10. move in an agitated manner; "His fingers worked with tension"

11. cause to happen or to occur as a consequence; "I cannot work a miracle"; "wreak havoc"; "bring comments"; "play a joke"; "The rain brought relief to the drought-stricken area" [syn: bring, play, wreak, make for]

12. cause to work; "he is working his servants hard" [syn: put to work]

13. prepare for crops; "Work the soil"; "cultivate the land" [syn: cultivate, crop]

14. behave in a certain way when handled; "This dough does not work easily"; "The soft metal works well"

15. have and exert influence or effect; "The artist's work influenced the young painter"; "She worked on her friends to support the political candidate" [syn: influence, act upon]

16. operate in or through; "Work the phones"

17. cause to operate or function; "This pilot works the controls"; "Can you work an electric drill?"

18. provoke or excite; "The rock musician worked the crowd of young girls into a frenzy"

19. gratify and charm, usually in order to influence; "the political candidate worked the crowds"

20. make something, usually for a specific function; "She molded the riceballs carefully"; "Form cylinders from the dough"; "shape a figure"; "Work the metal into a sword" [syn: shape, form, mold, mould, forge]

21. move into or onto; "work the raisins into the dough"; "the student worked a few jokes into his presentation"; "work the body onto the flatbed truck"

22. make uniform; "knead dough"; "work the clay until it is soft" [syn: knead]

23. use or manipulate to one's advantage; "He exploit the new taxation system"; "She knows how to work the system"; "he works his parents for sympathy" [syn: exploit]

24. find the solution to (a problem or question) or understand the meaning of; "did you solve the problem?"; "Work out your problems with the boss"; "this unpleasant situation isn't going to work itself out"; "did you get it?"; "Did you get my meaning?"; "He could not work the math problem" [syn: solve, work out, figure out, puzzle out, lick]

25. cause to undergo fermentation; "We ferment the grapes for a very long time to achieve high alcohol content"; "The vintner worked the wine in big oak vats" [syn: ferment]

26. go sour or spoil; "The milk has soured"; "The wine worked"; "The cream has turned--we have to throw it out" [syn: sour, turn, ferment]

27. arrive at a certain condition through repeated motion; "The stitches of the hem worked loose after she wore the skirt many times"

28. [also: wrought]

Work may refer to:

In physics, a force is said to do work if, when acting there is a displacement of the point of application in the direction of the force. For example, when a ball is held above the ground and then dropped, the work done on the ball as it falls is equal to the weight of the ball (a force) multiplied by the distance to the ground (a displacement).

The term work was introduced in 1826 by the French mathematician Gaspard-Gustave Coriolis as "weight lifted through a height", which is based on the use of early steam engines to lift buckets of water out of flooded ore mines. The SI unit of work is the joule (J).

Electrical work is the work done on a charged particle by an electric field. The equation for 'electrical' work is equivalent to that of 'mechanical' work:

$$W = Q \int_{a}^{b} \mathbf{E} \cdot \, d \mathbf{r} = Q \int_{a}^{b} \frac{\mathbf{F_E}}{Q} \cdot \, d \mathbf{r}= \int_{a}^{b} \mathbf{F_E} \cdot \, d \mathbf{r}$$

where

Q is the charge of the particle, q, the unit charge E is the electric field, which at a location is the force at that location divided by a unit ('test') charge F is the Coulomb (electric) force r is the displacement  ⋅  is the dot product

The electrical work per unit of charge, when moving a negligible test charge between two points, is defined as the voltage between those points.

Work more precise the "joint" or the "concil" (3 in to 12 elements) for an "administration in project management" is the amount of effort applied to produce a deliverable or to accomplish a task (a terminal element) or a group of related tasks defined at the same level in the WBS.

In thermodynamics, work performed by a system is the energy transferred by the system to its surroundings, that is fully accounted for solely by macroscopic forces exerted on the system by factors external to it, that is to say, factors in its surroundings. Thermodynamic work is a version of the concept of work in physics.

The external factors may be electromagnetic, gravitational, or pressure/volume or other simply mechanical constraints. Thermodynamic work is defined to be measurable solely from knowledge of such external macroscopic forces. These forces are associated with macroscopic state variables of the system that always occur in conjugate pairs, for example pressure and volume, magnetic flux density and magnetization. In the SI system of measurement, work is measured in joules (symbol: J). The rate at which work is performed is power.

Work (1852–1865) is a painting by Ford Madox Brown that is generally considered to be his most important achievement. It exists in two versions. The painting attempts to portray, both literally and analytically, the totality of the Victorian social system and the transition from a rural to an urban economy. Brown began the painting in 1852 and completed it in 1865, when he set up a special exhibition to showcase it along with several of his other works. He wrote a detailed catalogue explaining the significance of the picture.

The painting was commissioned by Thomas Plint, a well-known collector of Pre-Raphaelite art, who died before its completion. A second version, smaller at 684 x 990 mm, was commissioned in 1859 and completed in 1863. This is now in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. It is closely similar, though for the lady with a blue parasol the face of Maria Leathart, the commissioner's wife, replaces that of Mrs Brown in the Manchester version.

The picture depicts a group of so-called " navvies" digging up the road to build an underground tunnel. It is typically assumed that this was part of the extensions of London's sewerage system, which were being undertaken to deal with the threat of typhus and cholera. The workers are in the centre of the painting. On either side of them are individuals who are either unemployed or represent the leisured classes. Behind the workers are two wealthy figures on horseback, whose progress along the road has been halted by the excavations.

The painting also portrays an election campaign, evidenced by posters and people carrying sandwich boards with the name of the candidate "Bobus". A poster also draws attention to the potential presence of a burglar.

The setting is an accurate depiction of The Mount on Heath Street in Hampstead, London, where a side road rises up above the main road and runs alongside it. Brown made a detailed study of the location in 1852.

"Work" is a song written and performed by Jars of Clay. It is the second radio single from their 2006 studio album Good Monsters. The song was the 13th most played song on U.S. Christian Hit Radio stations in 2007. A live concert version of the song appears on the Live Monsters EP, which was released in 2007. An acoustic version of the song was included as a bonus thirteenth track on Good Monsters when purchased through a pre-release promotion on Apple's iTunes Store. A music video for "Work" was released in 2006.

"Work" is a song recorded by American recording artist Kelly Rowland. It was written by Rowland, Scott Storch and Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd and co-produced by Storch and Boyd for Rowland's second studio album, Ms. Kelly (2007). The full track was leaked on May 31, 2007 onto the internet. Although Columbia Records intended to release "Work" as Ms. Kellys lead single, " Like This" was eventually chosen as Rowland, who was influenced by the negative feedback the song received from blogs after the leaked snippets, began to think that that "Work" had no commercial potential. English-Irish DJ duo Freemasons later remixed "Work", which, according to Rowland, gave it "new life".

"Work" is an up-tempo composition which displays elements of funk music and go-go. Composed in the key of D#minor, the song lyrically speaks of a woman who affirms to her man that actions speak louder than words and that she is not a woman who is easy to get to. Following the less successful chart performances of previous single " Ghetto", the record was released as the album's second single during the first quarter of 2008 (see 2008 in music) in most international music markets, excluding parts of North America.

Prominently pushed by a re-arranged remix by British producer duo Freemasons, "Work" enjoyed major commercial success and eventually became Rowland's best-charting solo single since her 2002 songs " Dilemma" and " Stole", reaching the top ten in Australia, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. "Work" is her fourth international most successful solo single to date, behind "Dilemma", " When Love Takes Over" and "Stole". The music video for "Work" was filmed in Los Angeles, California and was directed by Philip Andelman. The video shows Rowland and her dancers posed in silhouette and shot against backdrops of vivid color and beam lighting. The beam lighting is used throughout the video to create a kaleidoscope effect which is used to break up each scene.

"Work" is a song by Jimmy Eat World from their 2004 album, Futures. It was the second single released from that album. The song was written by Jim Adkins and features backing vocals by Liz Phair.

"Work" received positive reviews from critics, and it appeared on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart and the UK Singles Chart. A music video was released for the song; it featured interviews with high school students. Since the song's release, Jimmy Eat World have included it in their live performances.

"Work" is the fifth single by English-Irish girl group The Saturdays. The pop song was written by Ina Wroldsen, Harry Sommerdahl and Kalle Engström. "Work" was released on 29 June 2009 as the final single from the group's debut album, Chasing Lights. The single was released by Fascination Records in the United Kingdom and Europe, while releasing the single in Ireland under the label of Polydor Records.

The song was released with a music video, which was filmed on 16 May 2009 at Shepperton Studios. The music video features a different beat to the single. The music video became the band's most viewed video (at the time of the release), and which took concept of the band's upcoming tour to be titled The Work Tour. "Work", kicked the tour off, by having clips of the music video, where they do the catwalk.

Although the song was a fan favourite, it failed to gain the success of the band's four previous singles. It charted at number 22 on the UK Singles Chart, number 21 on the Irish Singles Chart and 68 on the European Hot 100 Singles. The song became the band's lowest charting single in the UK at the time, and their first to miss the top ten. The single was remixed by audio and music technician, Phil Tan for its release.

"Work" is a song recorded by American recording artist Ciara for her third studio album Fantasy Ride (2009). It was released by LaFace Records on July 24, 2009, as the album's fifth and final single. Rapper Missy Elliott provides featured vocals on the song. Ciara and Elliott wrote it in collaboration with its producers Nate "Danja" Hills and Marcella Araica. "Work" is a fast-paced electropop and dance song with elements of house and hip hop. Ciara described it as an energetic club track, and considered it initially as the lead single of Fantasy Ride.

"Work" received mixed opinions overall by critics, some of whom called it the album's strongest track and praised its hook, while others regarded the song as unoriginal and disappointing. The single peaked at number 52 on the UK Singles Chart and number 46 in Sweden. In Ireland, it reached number 31, the single's highest peak position on any chart. Melina Matsoukas directed the song's music video, in which Ciara performs with her dancers.

Work is a 2010 album by Swedish indie rock band Shout Out Louds. It was released in the United States and Canada on February 23, 2010, in Scandinavia on February 24, 2010, and in Germany, Australia, Switzerland, and Austria on February 26, 2010. The album was preceded by 2007's Our Ill Wills. The first single off of Work was "Walls", which was released as a free MP3 download through the band's website. The second single, "Fall Hard", was made available as free streaming audio on the band's MySpace website over a month before the album's release.

Walls is the band's third full-length release. It was produced by Phil Ek, the producer of American folk rock band Fleet Foxes' eponymous debut album, Band of Horses' Cease to Begin, and The Shins' Chutes Too Narrow and Wincing the Night Away. Merge Records, the label on which the album is being distributed in North America, describes the album as "strip[ping] away the bells and whistles of previous efforts".

"Work" is a single by London-based musical duo The 2 Bears. It was released on 1 January 2012 as a Digital download in the United Kingdom. The song features on their debut studio album Be Strong.

Work: Capitalism, Economics, Resistance is a 376-page anarchist polemic by the CrimethInc. ex-Workers' Collective. Published in 2011, the book examines capitalist economy from historical and functional perspectives, investigating the intersections between micro- and macro-economics, finance, globalization, political power and legitimacy, class, consumerism, police, prisons, technology, social oppression and identity politics, education, and ideology.

"Work" is a song recorded by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea for her debut studio album, The New Classic (2014). It was released as Azalea's debut single as a lead artist, and the album's lead single on 17 March 2013. The track was written by Azalea, Trocon Markous Roberts, Natalie Sims, and The Invisible Men who produced it with 1st Down of FKi. Hailed by Azalea as her most personal song, "Work" was developed with motivational and inspirational intentions to portray her life story; specifically dealing with her struggle as an up-and-coming rapper, and her relocation from Mullumbimby, New South Wales to Miami at age 16. In sequence with its lyrical story, the snap and trap track begins with a sad-stringed verse segment before significantly increasing in tempo at its drum and synth-heavy refrain.

A number of music critics consider the song to be among Azalea's best output, namely praising her flow and the depth of the lyrical content. Commercially, "Work" became a sleeper hit; it peaked at number 17 on the UK Singles Chart and number 54 on the US Billboard Hot 100, but was certified silver and platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), respectively. "Work" became one of the lowest peaking songs to receive a sales certification in Australia where it reached number 79 and was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).

An accompanying music video was directed by Jonas & François and released on 13 March 2013. Inspired by several films, it features Azalea performing twerking sequences and a recreation of Vanessa Ferlito's lap dancing in the 2007 film, Death Proof. The video earned Azalea a nomination for Artist to Watch at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, and was praised by critics for its fashion, and portrayal of the song's lyrics. Among her live performance staples, Azalea promoted the single with live renditions on Britain & Ireland's Next Top Model and Nikki & Sara Live. It was also included in the setlist for her The New Classic Tour (2014). A number of remixes were commissioned for the single's release, including an official remix featuring American rapper Wale.

"Work" is a single by English grime artist Jme. The song was released in the United Kingdom on 14 July 2013 as the second single from his third studio album, Integrity> (2015). The song peaked at number 133 on the UK Singles Chart and number 16 on the UK Indie Chart.

Work is an extended play (EP) by English DJ Marcus Marr and Australian musician Chet Faker. The EP is the result of four days studio time that resulted from a spontaneous Twitter exchange.

"Work" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna for her eighth studio album, Anti (2016), featuring Canadian rapper Drake, the song was released as the lead single from Anti on January 27, 2016 through Westbury Road and Roc Nation. The song was written by PartyNextDoor, Drake, Rihanna, Monte Moir, Rupert "Sevn" Thomas, Allen Ritter and Matthew Samuels, and was produced by Boi-1da, Sevn Thomas, Ritter, Kuk Harrell and Noah "40" Shebib. The dancehall, reggae-pop song, contains an interpolation of " If You Were Here Tonight" (1985) performed by Alexander O'Neal. Lyrically, the song incorporates themes of working for money, as well as discussing fragile relationships. The song uses Jamaican Patois and Creole.

"Work" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Rihanna's fourteenth number one single and Drake's second, and remained at the top for nine weeks. The song also saw success elsewhere peaking at number one in Canada, Denmark, France, Spain, South Africa, Belgium and the Netherlands and peaking within the top five of the charts in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Germany.

The song was accompanied by two music videos, which both premiered on February 22, 2016. The first of the two versions was directed by Director X, while the second was directed by Tim Erem. The song was further promoted with a live performance at the 2016 BRIT Awards which featured guest appearances from Drake and SZA. "Work" was praised as a song which has brought the genre of dancehall to the forefront of American music, becoming the first dancehall song to top the Billboard Hot 100 since Sean Paul's " Temperature" (2006). A Billboard writer highlighted the song and Rihanna herself for displaying West Indian culture prominently without appropriation from the mainstream.