worked
UK/wɜːkt//wɝkt/
worked is the simple past and past participle of work.
Adjective
worked (not comparable)
- Designed or executed in a particular manner or to a particular degree.
- A heavy rich loam is, perhaps, the best of any; but carse lands, and well worked and manured clay soils, are also very suitable.1811, William Singers, “On the Varieties of Wheat, Barley, Oats, Peas, and Beans”, in Prize Essays and Transactions of the Highland Society of Scotland, page 73
- Processed in a particular way; prepared via labour.
- ...the light and elastic spear, made of the India bamboo, and tipped with the most perfectly worked steel, which he now held in his hand...1832, James Justinian Morier, Zorhab the Hostage, page 39
- Decorated or embellished; embroidered.
- ...and many of them, at least when young, wear only a worked piece of linen over their head.1803, William Alexander, The Costume of the Russian Empire, page 84
- Prepared so as to demonstrate the steps required.
- Place each error opposite its supposed number, as in the worked example.1835, R.H. Nicholls, Francis Walkingame, Taplin's Improved Edition of Walkingame's Tutor's Assistant, page 108
Meaning of work
Verb
work (third-person singular simple present works, present participle working, simple past and past participle worked or (rare, archaic) wrought)
- To do a specific task by employing physical or mental powers.
- He's working in a bar.
- Said of one's workplace (building), or one's department, or one's trade (sphere of business) [with in or at].
- I work in a national park.
- Said of one's job title [with as].
- This time was most dreadful for Lilian. Thrown on her own resources and almost penniless, she maintained herself and paid the rent of a wretched room near the hospital by working as a charwoman, sempstress, anything.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXXVII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 287
- Said of a company or individual who employs [with for].
- She works for Microsoft.
- General use, said of either fellow employees or instruments or clients [with with].
- I work closely with my Canadian counterparts.
- To be employed or operate in a certain place, area, or speciality.
- She works the night clubs.
Forms of worked
| alternative form | ywrought |
|---|
Words formed from worked
Phrases with worked
- worked at
- worked in
- worked on
- hot worked
- worked off
- worked out
- cold worked
- worked away
- worked back
- worked blue
- worked over
- worked round
36 more phrasesFewer phrases
- worked around
- worked the bar
- worked through
- worked to rule
- worked wonders
- worked backward
- worked the hole
- worked the line
- worked the refs
- worked the room
- worked together
- worked one's way
- worked the crowd
- worked like a dog
- worked the oracle
- worked the system
- worked like a mule
- worked one's magic
- worked the hyphens
- worked like a dream
- worked like a horse
- worked one's way up
- worked the audience
- worked like a nailer
- worked like a Trojan
- worked one's passage
- worked one's buns off
- worked one's guts out
- worked one's tail off
- worked into the ground
- worked someone's ass off
- worked someone's arse off
- worked someone's butt off
- worked someone's tail off
- worked oneself to the bone
- worked one's fingers to the bone
Words that rhyme with worked
Questions about worked
- What does worked mean?
- Worked means designed or executed in a particular manner or to a particular degree.
- What is worked the simple past and past participle of?
- Worked is the simple past and past participle of work.
- What part of speech is worked?
- Worked is an adjective.
- How do you pronounce worked?
- Worked is pronounced /wɜːkt/ (UK).
Words near worked in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: worked (page history and authors); work (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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-worked.ogg.
Cite this entry: “worked.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/worked. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.