working
adjEtymology From Middle English workyng, wirkynge, worchinge, werchinge, workinde, wirkand, worchende, wurchende, from Old English wyrċende, from Proto-Germanic *wurkijandz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *wurkijaną (“to work”), equivalent to work + -ing. Compare Scots wirkand, werkand, warkand (“working”), Dutch werkend (“working, acting”), German wirkend (“acting, working”).
7 senses
1
That is or are functioning.
- a working ventilator
2
That suffices but requires additional work; provisional.
- a working copy of the script
- a working title
3
In paid employment.
- Working mothers have recently joined the factory's workforce.
4
Of or relating to employment.
- the working week
5
Enough to allow one to use something.
- have a working knowledge of computers
6
Used in real life; practical.
- The working minimum focus distance is the distance from the closest focusable subject to the lens.
7
Obsolete Efficacious.
- You ſee my Lord, what woorking woordes hee hath. But when you ſee his actions ſtop ^([sic – meaning top]) his ſpeech, Your ſpeech will ſtay, or ſo extol his worth, As I ſhalbe commended and excuſde For turning my poore charge to his direction.c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene iii:
- Synonyms
- functioning, up:, draft, provisional, temporary, employed, in employment, work, basic
- Antonyms
- broken, broken-down, down:
- Derived terms
43 terms
working alive, working beam, working bee, working capital, working class, working conditions, working day, working definition, working directory, working dog, working drawing, working end, working environment, working family, working farm, working from home, working girl, working group, working hours, working hypothesis, working knowledge, working language, working life, working majority, working mass, working memory, working order, working papers, working part, working party, working poor, working pressure, working proof, working sail, working set, working stiff, working-storage section, working terrier, working time, working timetable, working title, working vocabulary, working week- Related terms
- work
- Hyponyms
- known-working