working

work|ing¹ W1S1 [ˈwə:kıŋ US ˈwə:r-] adj [only before noun]

1.)

a) having a job that you are paid for

→↑employed

▪ a working mother

▪ Many working women rely on relatives for childcare.

▪ A smaller working population will have to support a growing number of retired people.

b) old-fashioned having a physical or practical job

working man/people/folk

▪ the ordinary working man

2.) working hours/day/week

the time that people spend doing their job

▪ In a normal working day, I see around 6 or 7 clients.

during/outside working hours

▪ Telephone at any time during normal working hours.

▪ Many mothers prefer flexible working hours .

▪ We do a 37-hour working week.

3.) working day

a day of the week when most people work. In Britain and the US this is usually Monday to Friday

= ↑workday

▪ It will be returned within three working days (=three days, not including weekends or public holidays) .

4.) working conditions/environment etc

the situation in which you work, especially the physical things such as pay or safety

▪ improvements in working conditions

5.) working practices/methods

the way in which you do your job

▪ training in up-to-date working practices

6.) working life

the part of your adult life when you have a paid job

▪ He spent all his working life in a factory.

7.) (in) working order

working properly and not broken

be in good/perfect/full etc working order

▪ The car was old, but the engine was still in good working order.

▪ the amount of exercise needed to keep your body in working order

8.) working relationship

the way that people work together

working relationship with/between

▪ They want to establish a better working relationship between medical and nursing staff.

good/close/effective etc working relationship

▪ We have a close working relationship with other voluntary groups.

9.) a working knowledge of sth

enough knowledge of a system, subject, language etc to be able to use it or to do a particular job

▪ A good working knowledge of the Building Regulations is necessary for the job.

10.) working clothes also work clothes

clothes which you wear for work or are designed for people to work in

11.) working model

a model that has parts that move

12.) working parts

the parts of a machine that move

13.) working definition/theory/title

a ↑definition, idea etc that may not be exactly right but is good enough to use when you start working on something

14.) working majority

BrE enough support in parliament for a government to continue making laws and ruling a country

15.) working breakfast/lunch/dinner

a breakfast, lunch etc which is also a business meeting

16.) working memory

technical the part of a person's or computer's memory which stores information about the thing being worked on now

working ²

working² n

1.) [singular] also workings

the way something such as a system, piece of equipment, or organization works

working of

▪ his knowledge of the inner workings of the department

▪ I shall never understand the workings of his mind (=how he thinks) .

2.) flexible/short-time etc working

a particular way of working, especially relating to the hours which someone works

3.) [C usually plural]

a mine or part of a mine where soil has been dug out in order to remove metals or stone

→↑quarry