works
UK/wɜːks//wɝks/
works is the plural of work in its countable senses.
works is the third-person singular simple present indicative of work.
Noun (2)
works pl (plural only)
- A mechanism or machinery; the means by which something happens.
- Aged and degraded oil and grease can really gum up the works.
- Something clicked in his throat, as if he had works in him like a clock, and was going to strike.1860 December – 1861 August, Charles Dickens, chapter III, in Great Expectations […], volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published October 1861, →OCLC, page 37
- Everything or everything that is available or possible; especially, all available toppings on food.
- I'll have a Behemoth Burger with the works.
- My my they wanted the works, can you this and that / I never got a letter back1974, Brian Eno, “Dead Finks Don't Talk”, in Here Come the Warm Jets
- Synonyms:
- all the marbles, bag and baggage, everytang, everything but the galley stove, everything but the kitchen sink, everything under the sun, full monty, hook, line and sinker, kit and caboodle
- Drastic treatment; abuse; the axe (dismissal).
- Why did Constantinople get the works?1953, “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)”, Jimmy Kennedy (lyrics)
- "Why don't we pull him in on tax evasion or misuse of the mails or parkin' in front of a hydrant or sumpn? Take him down to the Tombs and give 'em the works? If the Feds won't do it, we'd be glad to oblige."1954, Ian Fleming, “The Big Switchboard”, in Live and Let Die, London: Pan Books, published 1957, page 36
- A heroin or other drug addict's equipment: syringes, needles, etc.
- While in San Francisco, where the AIDS crisis was particularly devastating, they saw numerous public awareness signs reading “Bleach Your Works” posted around the city, urging IV drug users to clean their needles with bleach to help staunch the spread of the disease.2009, Gillian G. Gaar, The Rough Guide to Nirvana, Rough Guides UK, →ISBN
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.
Noun (1)
works (plural works)
- A factory or factories, or a similar collection(s) of industrial facilities.
- The steel works almost fills the valley.
- In the autumn there was a row at some cement works about the unskilled labour men. A union had just been started for them and all but a few joined. One of these blacklegs was laid for by a picket and knocked out of time.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC
Proper noun capitalized: Works
Works
Synonyms of works
- all the marbles
- bag and baggage
- everytang
- everything but the galley stove
- everything but the kitchen sink
- everything under the sun
- full monty
- hook
- line and sinker
- kit and caboodle
14 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of works
| plural | works |
|---|
Words formed from works
Phrases with works
- Ex Works
- works at
- works in
- works on
- works up
- cut works
- gas works
- gig works
- hot works
- try works
- works off
- works out
128 more phrasesFewer phrases
- cold works
- farm works
- good works
- iron works
- mask works
- road works
- salt works
- works away
- works back
- works blue
- works over
- false works
- field works
- paper works
- skunk works
- water works
- works round
- works teams
- basket works
- cement works
- life's works
- orphan works
- public works
- rubbed works
- street works
- sulfur works
- works around
- works of art
- primary works
- sulphur works
- trellis works
- works the bar
- works through
- works to rule
- works wonders
- creative works
- freezing works
- orphaned works
- smelting works
- tertiary works
- works backward
- works councils
- works the hole
- works the line
- works the refs
- works the room
- works together
- clerks of works
- community works
- reference works
- secondary works
- works one's way
- works the crowd
- derivative works
- functional works
- works agreements
- works in process
- works like a dog
- works of fiction
- works the oracle
- works the system
- engineering works
- gums up the works
- works councillors
- works in progress
- works like a mule
- works one's magic
- works the hyphens
- works like a dream
- works like a horse
- works of necessity
- works one's way up
- works the audience
- clerks of the works
- gummed up the works
- works like a nailer
- works like a Trojan
- works one's passage
- gumming up the works
- works one's buns off
- works one's guts out
- works one's tail off
- if it works, it works
- spanners in the works
- works into the ground
- wrenches in the works
- works someone's ass off
- works someone's arse off
- works someone's butt off
- works someone's tail off
- works oneself to the bone
- monkey wrench in the works
- put a spanner in the works
- threw a wrench in the works
- throw a wrench in the works
- God works in mysterious ways
- monkey wrenches in the works
- threw a spanner in the works
- throw a spanner in the works
- thrown a wrench in the works
- throws a wrench in the works
- threw a wrench into the works
- throw a wrench into the works
- thrown a spanner in the works
- throws a spanner in the works
- threw a spanner into the works
- throw a spanner into the works
- throwing a wrench in the works
- thrown a wrench into the works
- throws a wrench into the works
- throwing a spanner in the works
- thrown a spanner into the works
- throws a spanner into the works
- works one's fingers to the bone
- throwing a wrench into the works
- the Lord works in mysterious ways
- throwing a spanner into the works
- threw a monkey wrench in the works
- throw a monkey wrench in the works
- thrown a monkey wrench in the works
- throws a monkey wrench in the works
- threw a monkey wrench into the works
- throw a monkey wrench into the works
- throwing a monkey wrench in the works
- thrown a monkey wrench into the works
- throws a monkey wrench into the works
- throwing a monkey wrench into the works
- hell is full of good meanings, but heaven is full of good works
Words that rhyme with works
Questions about works
- What does works mean?
- Works means a factory or factories, or a similar collection(s) of industrial facilities.
- What is works the plural of?
- Works is the plural of work in its countable senses.
- What part of speech is works?
- Works can be a noun or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce works?
- Works is pronounced /wɜːks/ (UK).
- What is the plural of works?
- The plural of works is works.
Words near works in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: works (page history and authors); Works (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-works.ogg.
Cite this entry: “works.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/works. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.