work in progressn.
/ˌwəːkɪnˈprəʊɡrɛs/, /ˌwəːkɪnˈprɒɡrɛs/, U.S. /ˌwərkɪnˈprɑɡrəs/ 1.
a. A work of art, literature, etc., which exists in preliminary, rough, or unfinished form but which has not been brought to completion. Also as a mass noun.In early use not as a fixed collocation.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > work > [noun] > other types of work
church worka1225
kirk work1418
fieldwork1441
labour of love1592
life's work1660
shop work1696
outwork1707
private practice1724
tide-work1739
sales-work1775
marshing1815
work in progress1815
life-work1837
relief work1844
sharp practice1847
near work1850
slop-work1861
repetition work1866
side work1875
rework1878
wage-slavery1886
work in progress1890
war work1891
busywork1893
screen work1912
staff-work1923
gig work1927
knowledge work1959
WIP1966
telework1970
playwork1986
laboratory work2002
society > leisure > the arts > the arts in general > [noun] > work of art > undertaken but not completed
work in progress1815
WIP1966
1815 New Monthly Mag. Apr. 247/2 Unfortunately the author..undertakes too many things at once; he has three or four great works in progress, but none of them is finished.
1817 Lit. Gaz. 24 May 283/3 We understand that Mr. Southey has several works in progress.
1831 C. H. Capper Observ. ‘Investigator's’ Pamphl. rel. to Railways 10 The charging of £95,000 interest on a work in progress does appear almost too preposterous to make any remark upon.
1850 Bull. Amer. Art-union Apr. 7/2 Other of the most eminent artists..are always ready to aid him with their advice, and to form his taste by affording him constant opportunities of seeing their own works in progress.
1917 Nation 22 Nov. 574/2 He became more and more willing..to perpetuate in bronze or marble some phase of a work in progress through which a different artist would have pushed on to a pre-determined conclusion.
1976 P. Israel French Kiss (1977) ii. 24 The work-in-progress on one of the easels.
1987 M. Roberts Bk. Mrs Noah (1994) v. 21 Women come here to develop their craft, to discuss work in progress, to give and take criticism and advice on redrafting.
2010 S. Carson Your Creative Brain ix. 190 It's best to ask them to give you concrete suggestions for improvement of your work rather than asking them to render judgment on a partially completed work-in-progress.
b. In extended use: a person who or thing which is not yet fully formed or complete; a person or thing requiring improvement or refinement.
Π
1984 Hartford (Connecticut) Courant 9 Dec. (Northeast section) 28/4 I don't know what someone is going to say my real accomplishment is. It has no value if you're a work in progress.
1991 Washington City Paper 15 Nov. 10/1 Though Adams was better at the time of the trade-away than Muggsy Bogues..Adams was still a work in progress in 1987.
1997 N.Y. Times 2 May a 18/2 The end of a long period of restoration and renewal is merely a prelude to the equally arduous task of preservation. Central Park will always be a work in progress.
2012 Kent & Sussex Courier (Nexis) 21 Sept. 74 We're [sc. a cricket team] still a work in progress and the fact that we're disappointed shows we're ambitious.
2. Business. Frequently in form work-in-progress. Unfinished products, considered collectively. Also: the total value of the materials and labour so far employed in producing or manufacturing such products, used for accounting purposes.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > work > [noun] > other types of work
church worka1225
kirk work1418
fieldwork1441
labour of love1592
life's work1660
shop work1696
outwork1707
private practice1724
tide-work1739
sales-work1775
marshing1815
work in progress1815
life-work1837
relief work1844
sharp practice1847
near work1850
slop-work1861
repetition work1866
side work1875
rework1878
wage-slavery1886
work in progress1890
war work1891
busywork1893
screen work1912
staff-work1923
gig work1927
knowledge work1959
WIP1966
telework1970
playwork1986
laboratory work2002
1890 Observer 29 June 8/4 The sale of the land, works, machinery, fixed and loose plant, tools, stock-in-trade, work in progress, and goodwill.
1930 Times 25 Mar. 24/5 ‘Work in progress, less instalments thereon’, is £141,069, against £47,351 in the previous year.
1976 Irish Times 27 Mar. 12/3 The after tax profits are more than fully needed to finance expansion and increased investment in debtors and work-in-progress caused by inflation.
2008 J. McCallig Introd. Financial Accounting (ed. 2) i. 10 Inventory is the amount of raw materials, work-in-progress and finished goods that the company has at the end of the reporting period.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1815