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Synonyms for work

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verb

To labor
toil, slave, sweat, do a day's work, do the chores, exert oneself, apply oneself, do one's best, overexert, overwork, overstrain, get to work, work overtime, work day and night, work early and late, work one's way up, fight one's way up, tax one's energies, pull, plod, tug, chore, struggle, strive, carry on, do the job*, punch a time clock*, put in time*, pour it on*, not spare the horses*, work one's fingers to the bone*, buckle down*, bear down*, work like a horse, work like a dog, work like a slave*, keep at it*, stay with it*, put one's shoulder to the wheel*, burn the candle at both ends*, burn the midnight oil*; see also fight 1.
To be employed
earn one's living, earn a living, have a job, hold a position, occupy a post, report for work, be off the dole, be off the welfare rolls, be among the gainfully employed, be on the job, do time*, do one's stint*, be working on the railroad*, be a wage slave*.
To function
go, run, serve; see act 1, operate 2.
To handle successfully
control, accomplish, manage; see achieve 1, operate 3.
To fashion
give form to, sculpture, mold; see form 1.
To ferment
sour, ripen, become worky; see ferment.

noun

Something to be done
commitment, task, obligation; see job 2.
The doing of work, sense 1
performance, endeavor, employment, production, occupation, profession, vocation, calling, practice, activity, manufacture, industry, operation, transaction, toil, labor, exertion, drudgery, functioning, stress, struggle, slavery, trial, push, attempt, effort, pains, elbow grease*, muscle*.
The result of labor; often plural
composition, feat, accomplishment, output, product, deed, act, finished article, achievement, end product, opus, opera; see also drama 1, literature 1, movie, music 1, picture 3.
Occupation
profession, craft, business; see job 1, trade 2.

at work

working, on the job, engaged; see employed.

give someone the works*

shoot, slaughter, murder; see kill 1.

in the works*

prepared for, budgeted, in process, approved; see planned, ready 2.

make short<strong> or </strong>quick work of*

finish off, deal with, dispose of; see prevent, stop 1.

off work

not at work, off duty, not on duty, gone, gone home, out of work; see also unemployed.

out of work

not hired, dismissed, looking for a job, redundant (British); see unemployed.

shoot the works*

risk everything, gamble, everything, go the limit, attempt; risk, tryrisk, try 1.

See work in American Heritage Dictionary 4 Synonyms

work labor toil ¹drudgery travail

These nouns refer to physical or mental effort expended to produce or accomplish something. Work is the most widely applicable: “Which of us … is to do the hard and dirty work for the rest—and for what pay?” (John Ruskin). “A work that aspires … to the condition of art should carry its justification in every line” (Joseph Conrad).
Labor usually implies human work, especially of a hard physical or intellectual nature: “garner the fruits of their own labors” (Roger Casement).
Toil applies principally to strenuous, fatiguing labor: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat” (Winston S. Churchill).
Drudgery suggests dull, wearisome, or monotonous work: “the drudgery of penning definitions and marking quotations for transcription” (Thomas Macaulay).
Travail connotes arduous work involving pain or suffering: “prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth” (Henry Beston).

See work in Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus II

noun

Physical exertion that is usually difficult and exhausting:
drudgery, labor, moil, toil, travail. (Informal) sweat. (Chiefly British) fag. Idiom: sweat of one's brow. See work
Activity pursued as a livelihood:
art, business, calling, career, craft, employment, job, line, mÃ©tier, occupation, profession, pursuit, trade, vocation. (Slang) racket. (Archaic) employ. See action
Something done:
act, action, deed, doing, thing. See do
Something that is the result of creative effort:
composition, opus, piece, production. See make
An issue of printed material offered for sale or distribution:
opus, publication, title, volume. See words
A building or complex in which an industry is located.
Used in plural: factory, mill, plant. See make, place
The technique, style, and quality of working:
craftsmanship, workmanship. See work
(Informal)
An amount or quantity from which nothing is left out or held back.
Used in plural: aggregate, all, entirety, everything, gross, sum, total, totality, whole. Idioms: everything but (or except) the kitchen sink, lock, stock, and barrel, the whole ball of wax (or kit and caboodle) (or megillah) (or nine yards) (or shebang). See part

verb

To exert one's mental or physical powers, usually under difficulty and to the point of exhaustion:
drive, fag, labor, moil, strain¹, strive, sweat, toil, travail, tug. Idiom: break one's back (or neck). See work
To perform a function effectively:
function, go, operate, run, take. See thrive
To react in a specified way:
act, behave, function, operate, perform. See action
To turn out well:
come off, go, go over, pan out, succeed, work out. (Slang) click. See thrive
To control or direct the functioning of:
manage, operate, run, use. See control
To arrive at an answer to (a mathematical problem):
solve, work out. (Informal) figure out. See reason
To handle in a way so as to mix, form, and shape:
knead, manipulate. See touch
To introduce gradually and slyly:
edge, foist, infiltrate, insinuate, wind², worm. See enter
To prepare (soil) for the planting and raising of crops:
cultivate, culture, dress, tend², till. See prepared, touch
To force to work:
drive, task, tax. Idiom: crack the whip. See work

phrasal verb
work out

To arrive at an answer to (a mathematical problem):
solve, work. (Informal) figure out. See reason
To plan the details or arrangements of:
arrange, lay out, prepare, schedule. See planned
To form a strategy for:
blueprint, cast, chart, conceive, contrive, design, devise, formulate, frame, lay¹, plan, project, scheme, strategize. (Informal) dope out. Idiom: lay plans. See planned
To turn out well:
come off, go, go over, pan out, succeed, work. (Slang) click. See thrive
To subject to or engage in forms of exertion in order to train, strengthen, or condition:
drill, exercise, practice, train. See work