make short work of something Definition

short
adj

1. Having little physical length; not long.
2. Having little height.

Thesaurus: undersized, small, little, dwarfish, stubby, squat, stunted, diminutive, pint-sized; Antonym: large, ample.
3. Having little extent or duration; brief; concise.

Example: short day
Thesaurus: brief, fleeting, curtailed, condensed, terse, succinct, pithy, abridged, compressed, short-lived; Antonym: sustained, lasting.
4. In the early future.

Example: short date
5. Indicating a seemingly short length of time.

Example: For a few short weeks we could enjoy our time together
6. Said of a temper: quickly and easily lost.
7. Rudely abrupt; curt.

Example: She was very short with him
Thesaurus: curt, rude, cantankerous, quarrelsome, impatient, irascible, petulant.
8. Said of the memory: tending not to retain things for long.
9. Said of a substance, especially food: brittle.
10. Said of pastry: crisp and crumbling easily.
11. Failing to reach the standard; not going far enough.
12. In short supply; in demand.

Example: We are two tickets short
Thesaurus: inadequate, deficient, lacking, wanting; Antonym: sufficient.
13. In default.
14. Referring to the sale of what one cannot supply.
15. phonetics.
Said of a vowel sound: being the briefer of two possible lengths of vowel.
16. poetry.
Said of a syllable: unaccented.
17. colloq
Said of an alcoholic drink, especially a spirit: not diluted with water; neat.
18. Lacking in money.

Example: I'm a bit short at the moment
19. cricket.
Said of fielding positions: relatively close to the batsman.
20. Said of betting odds: providing the winner with only a small profit; near even.

adverb

1. Abruptly; briefly.

Example: stopped short
2. On this or the near side.

Example: The dart fell short of the board

noun

1. Something that is short.
2. Shortness; abbreviation or summary.
3. colloq
A drink of an alcoholic spirit.
4. A short cinema film shown before the main feature film.
5. A short circuit.

verb

tr & intr
shorted, shorting
1. To short-circuit.

Derivative: shortness
noun

Idiom: be caught short (be taken short)

colloq
To have an urgent need to urinate or defecate.

Idiom: cut someone or something short

See under cut.

Idiom: fall short

To be insufficient; to be less than a required, expected or stated amount.

Idiom: for short

As an abbreviated form.
Example: She gets called Jenny for short

Idiom: go short of something (run short of something)

Not to have enough of it; to have an insufficient supply of it.
Example: We're running short of milk

Idiom: in short

Concisely stated; in a few words.

Idiom: in short order

Very quickly.
Thesaurus: soon, rapidly, without delay, quickly.

Idiom: in short supply

Not available in the required or desired quantity; scarce.
Example: Food is in short supply in Bosnia

Idiom: in the short run

Within a short space of time; over a brief period.

Idiom: make short work of someone or something

To settle or dispose of quickly and thoroughly.
Example: I made short work of the essay

Idiom: short and sweet

colloq
Agreeably brief.

Idiom: short for something

An abbreviated form of it.
Example: Jenny is short for Jennifer

Idiom: short of something (short on something)

Deficient; lacking in it.
Example: We're always short of money
Example: She's a bit short on tact

Idiom: short of something

Without going as far as it; except it.
Example: We tried every kind of persuasion short of threats

Idiom: stop short

To come to an abrupt halt or standstill.

Etymology: Anglo-Saxon sceort.

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work
noun

1. Physical or mental effort made in order to achieve or make something, eg labour, study, research, etc.
2. Employment.

Example: out of work
Thesaurus: occupation, profession, job, vocation, line, calling, employment, craft, trade, business, skill, avocation, pursuit.
3. One's place of employment.

Example: He leaves work at 4.30
4. Tasks to be done. Also in compounds.

Example: She often brings work home with her
Example: housework
Thesaurus: jobs, tasks, chores, assignments, projects, commitments, duties, obligations.
5. The product of mental or physical labour.

Example: His work has improved
Example: a lifetime's work
Thesaurus: performance, handiwork, output, endeavour, production.
6. A manner of working, or workmanship.
7a. Any literary, artistic, musical, or dramatic composition or creation;
7b. The entire collection of such material by an artist, composer or author, etc.

Form: works
8. Anything done, managed, made or achieved, etc; an activity carried out for some purpose.

Example: works of charity
9. old use
Needlework.
10. Things made in the material or with the tools specified; the production of such things.

Example: basketwork
11. The parts of a building, etc using a specified material.

Example: stonework
12. Building or repair operations.

Example: roadworks
Form: works
13. A rampart or defense.

Example: earthworks
Form: works
14. colloq
The operating parts of eg a watch or machine; the mechanism.
Thesaurus: parts, cogs, wheels, gears, pistons, springs, coils, chains, rods, pulleys, wires.
Form: works
15. The place of manufacture of a specified product.

Example: gasworks
Form: works
16. colloq
Everything possible, available or going; the whole lot
Example: She has a headache, fever, cold ― the works!
Thesaurus: everything, all, totality, entirety, the whole, the whole shebang.
Form: the works
17. physics.
The transfer of energy that occurs when force is exerted on a body to move it, measured in joules.

adj

1. Relating to, or suitable for, etc work.

Example: work clothes

verb worked, working

intr
1. To do work; to exert oneself mentally or physically; to toil, labour or study.

Thesaurus: labour, toil, do; slave, sweat, punch a time clock (US slang), work one's fingers to the bone, buckle down, work like a horse, work like a dog, put one's nose to the grindstone.
tr & intr
2. To be employed or have a job.
3. To impose tasks on someone; to make them labour.

Example: She works her staff hard
tr & intr
4. To operate, especially satisfactorily

Example: Does this radio work?
Thesaurus: function, go, run, serve, operate.
intr
5. Said of a plan or idea, etc: to be successful or effective.
intr
6. To function in a particular way.

Example: That's not how life works
intr
7. Said of a craftsman: to specialize in the use of a specified material.

Example: He works in brass
8. To shape or fashion (metals or other materials); to make by doing this.

Example: earrings worked in silver
9. To cultivate (land).
10. To extract materials from (a mine).
11. To knead (eg dough).
12. To cover (an area) as a salesman, etc.
13. To sew or embroider, etc.
14. To achieve (miracles, wonders, etc).

Thesaurus: accomplish, achieve, effect, manage.
15. colloq
To manipulate (a system or rules, etc) to one's advantage.
tr & intr
16. To make (one's way), or shift or make something shift gradually.

Example: work one's way forward
Example: worked the nail out of the wall
intr
17. Said eg of a screw: to become gradually (loose or free, etc).
intr
18. Said of the face or features: to move uncontrollably with emotion; to contort.
19. To exercise (a part of the body).
intr
20. Said of a liquid: to ferment.
21. To earn (one's sea passage) by unpaid work on board.

Derivative: workless
adj

Idiom: all in a day's work

Not being any more work or trouble than usual.

Idiom: give someone the works

colloq
To use every measure available in dealing with them, by way of eg punishment, coercion or welcome.

Idiom: have one's work cut out

colloq
To be faced with a challenging task.

Idiom: make short work of something or someone

To deal with it or them rapidly and effectively.
Thesaurus: finish off, deal with, dispose of, prevent, stop, put paid to.

Idiom: a ... piece (a ... bit of work)

colloq
A person, especially with regard to an unfavorable aspect of character or disposition.
Example: He's a nasty piece of work

Idiom: work to rule

To reduce efficiency by working strictly to official working rules, especially as a form of industrial action.

Etymology: Anglo-Saxon weorc.

Phrasal Verb: work at something

To apply oneself to it.

Phrasal Verb: work in

Said of workers protesting against closure or redundancy, etc: to occupy work premises and take over the running of the business. See also work-in.

Phrasal Verb: work something in

To add and mix (an ingredient) into a mixture.To find a place for it; to fit it in.
Example: I'll work an appointment in somehow

Phrasal Verb: work something off

To get rid of (energy or the effects of a heavy meal) by energetic activity.

Phrasal Verb: work on someone

To use one's powers of persuasion on them.

Phrasal Verb: work on something

To try to perfect or improve it.To use it as a basis for one's decisions and actions.
Example: working on that assumption

Phrasal Verb: work out

To be successfully achieved or resolved.
Example: It'll all work out in the end
To perform a set of energetic physical exercises. See also workout.
Example: She's working out at the gym

Phrasal Verb: work something out

To solve it; to sort or reason it out.

Phrasal Verb: work someone over

To beat them up.

Phrasal Verb: work someone up

To excite or agitate them.

Phrasal Verb: work something up

To summon up (an appetite, enthusiasm or energy, etc).

Phrasal Verb: work up to something

To approach (a difficult task or objective) by gradual stages.