Meanings
- Working, in the process of doing work.
Don't interrupt me while I'm at work on my housing project.
2 more examples
In the United States, where the railways are 90 per cent. dieselised today, diesel-electric power is the unvarying rule for independent locomotive units, and the only motive power exceptions are the highly successful 600-h.p. diesel-hydraulic railcars of the Budd "RDC" type, of which between 300 and 400 are now at work.
1958 April 28, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 268This was billed as the battle between Kane and his Poland opposite number Lewandowski but this was a game where it was possible to simply enjoy two masters of their craft at work.
2021 September 8, Phil McNulty, “Poland 1-1 England”, in BBC Sport - figurativelyAt play, in action.
These three [August Bebel, Helen Stoecker, and Magnus Hirschfeld] can be taken to typify some of the currents at work before the Nazis came to power in 1933.
1986 February 15, Denis M. Sweet, “A Sobering History from Weimar to the Ovens”, in Gay Community News, volume 14, number 39, page B3Synonyms: working
Synonyms & antonyms
prepositional phraseAt play, in action.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveon the job
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Danish i arbejde
- i arbejdein the process of doing work
Dutch aan het werk, aan de slag
- aan het werkin the process of doing work
- aan de slagin the process of doing work
Finnish töissä, toiminnassa
- töissäat one's workplace
- toiminnassaat play, in action
French à pied d’œuvre, au travail
- à pied d’œuvreat one's workplace
- au travailat one's workplace
- au travailin the process of doing work
- à l'œuvreat play, in action
German bei der Arbeit, am Werk
- bei der Arbeitat one's workplace
- am Werkin the process of doing work
Italian al lavoro, sul lavoro
- al lavoroat one's workplace
- sul lavoroat one's workplace
Latin in opere
- in operein the process of doing work
Norwegian Bokmål i arbeid
- i arbeidin the process of doing work
Persian سر کار
- سر کار (sar-e kâr)at one's workplace
Polish w pracy, w pracy
- w pracyat one's workplace
- w pracyin the process of doing work
- w akcjiat play, in action
Russian на рабо́те, за рабо́той
- на рабо́те (na rabóte)at one's workplace
- за рабо́той (za rabótoj)in the process of doing work
- в де́йствии (v déjstvii)at play, in action
Spanish en el trabajo, de obras
- en el trabajoat one's workplace
- de obrasin the process of doing work
Swedish i arbete
- i arbetein the process of doing work
Cite this entry
at work. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/at%20work
“at work.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/at%20work. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “at work,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/at%20work.
Source: at work on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.