Word.ws English Dictionary

a woman's work is never done

a woman's work is never done proverb: housework, which is generally considered women's work, is never finished.

Proverb

a woman's work is never done

  1. Housework, which is generally considered women's work, is never finished.
  2. Women generally work long and hard, especially as they often are responsible for housework and care roles in addition to paid work.
    • "Six o'clock, and working still! […] They say a woman's work is never done," remarked Ik Stanton, dropping into the easiest chair in the studio, "and for this reason, were there no other, your muse is evidently of the feminine persuasion."1878, Edward Payson Roe, chapter 1, in A Face Illumined
    • As Professor Myerhoff writes: "The adage 'A woman's work is never done' calls attention to the continuity of woman's tasks on a daily basis."1979 April 1, Charles E. Silberman, “A Proper Way to Live”, in New York Times, retrieved 07 Jul 2019

Origin of a woman's work is never done

From a traditional rhyming couplet, found in at least two forms: : Man works till set of sun, : Woman's work is never done. : From rise of morn to set of sun : Woman's work is never done.

Questions about a woman's work is never done

What does a woman's work is never done mean?
A woman's work is never done means housework, which is generally considered women's work, is never finished.
What part of speech is a woman's work is never done?
A woman's work is never done is a proverb.

Words near a woman's work is never done in the dictionary

  1. a whole 'nother
  2. a whole nother
  3. a wild goose never laid a tame egg
  4. a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle
  5. a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle
  6. a woman's work is never done
  7. a world of
  8. a worry shared is a worry halved
  9. a yard of pump water
  10. a year and a day
  11. A"H

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: a woman's work is never done (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-NaomiAmethyst-a woman's work is never done.wav.

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