workingadjective [ before noun ]
uk/ˈwɜː.kɪŋ/us/ˈwɝː.kɪŋ/working adjective [ before noun ] (JOB)
B1 relating to work:
a 37-hour working week
Working conditions/practices in the mill have hardly changed over the last 20 years.
She has a difficult working relationship with many of her employees.
having work:
These tax changes will affect 90 percent of the working population.
More examples
- The union wants to see a reduction in working hours.
- Insistence on better working conditions by the union has resulted in fewer employee absences.
- The introduction of new working practices has dramatically improved productivity.
- These figures mean that almost 15 percent of the working population is unemployed.
- We found it impossible to acclimatize ourselves to the new working conditions.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Work, working and the workplace
- a long way to go idiom
- act as sth 1
- act as sth
- all work and no play (makes Jack a dull boy) idiom
- assignment
- cabin
- grind
- hold down a job idiom
- hoop
- hot desk
- hot-desking
- hotelling
- housekeeping
- labour
- slog
- slouch
- spadework
- sweat
- sweat over sth
- swing into action idiom
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working adjective [ before noun ] (MACHINE)
operating:
It has taken about five years to restore the aircraft to (full) working condition/order.
The working parts of a machine are those that move and make it work:
It is essential that all working components are well lubricated.
More examples
- I'm not sure if the machine is in working order.
- They are restoring the engine to working condition.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Machines - Functioning
- asthmatically
- commission
- faulty
- fire sth up
- function as sth/sb
- functionally
- operation
- operational
- operative
- order
- pack up
- peg
- perform
- play up
- right
- roll
- start
- start (sth) up
- torpor
- work
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working adjective [ before noun ] (USEFUL)
B2 used to refer to a plan, idea, or knowledge that is not complete but is good enough to be useful:
We have a working theory/hypothesis about what caused the crash, which we will test.
She's fluent in French and English and has a working knowledge of Spanish.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Efficient and effective
- a treat idiom
- be firing on all cylinders idiom
- businesslike
- dispatch
- do the trick idiom
- does what it says on the tin idiom
- ergonomics
- labour-saving
- miraculous
- organized
- potency
- punch
- smooth
- snappy
- technical
- timesaving
- together
- treat
- trick
- well oiled
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