Meanings
present singular third person does a lot of work · participle present doing a lot of work · past did a lot of work · participle past done a lot of work
- literallyTo perform a large amount of work.
- figurativelyCarry a great deal of implicit meaning.
- figurativelysarcasticTo be an understatement.
1 more example
I have written extensively about this elsewhere, but in this context it is noteworthy that yet again, conspiracy theories abound regarding the government hiding information about these videos, especially since they were filmed by the US military, who admitted they are “real.” That word is doing a lot of work here. When people hear “real,” their brains autocorrect to “aliens” or “Russian/Chinese assets” threatening our country, while the government simply meant that the videos themselves are genuine, not fakes or hoaxes.
2022 October 25, Michael Shermer, Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, →ISBN, page 225
Origin
From do + a lot + of + work. Attested as early as 1986. https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2021-April/159701.html
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
do a lot of work. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/do%20a%20lot%20of%20work
“do a lot of work.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/do%20a%20lot%20of%20work. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “do a lot of work,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/do%20a%20lot%20of%20work.
Source: do a lot of work on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.