Hello, English learners! Welcome to a new lesson. The verb work does not only refer to doing a job. When it is combined with different particles, it creates phrasal verbs with a wide range of meanings. You can work out at the gym, work through a difficult problem, work up the courage to do something or work around an obstacle. In this lesson, you will learn 10 useful phrasal verbs with work, together with clear meanings, natural examples and important usage notes. These phrasal verbs are useful in everyday English, professional communication and Cambridge exams such as B2 First and C1 Advanced.
So, let’s get to work!
Work around
Meaning: to find a way of dealing with or avoiding a problem
- We have a scheduling conflict, but I’m sure we can work around it.
- The software has several limitations that we need to work around.
A solution that allows you to avoid a problem temporarily is called a workaround.
- We have found a temporary workaround until the software is repaired.
Work at
Meaning: to make a determined effort to improve something or become better at it
- You need to work at your pronunciation if you want to sound more natural.
- A successful relationship is something both people have to work at.
Usage note: Do not confuse this meaning with work at followed by the name of a workplace:
- She works at a university.
In this sentence, work at simply tells us where she is employed.
Work in
Meaning: to include or add something naturally
- The presenter worked in a few jokes to keep the audience interested.
- Try to work in some examples from your own experience.
Word order
Work in is separable. A noun can come before or after the particle:
- She worked in a few jokes.
- She worked a few jokes in.
A pronoun must come between the verb and the particle:
- She worked them in.
Not: She worked in them.
Work off
Meaning 1: to get rid of food, stress or energy through physical activity
- We went for a long walk to work off our enormous lunch.
Meaning 2: to repay a debt by working
- He worked off the debt by helping at his uncle’s shop.
Work on
Meaning: to spend time improving, developing, producing or repairing something
- He is working on his pronunciation.
- Our team is working on a new marketing campaign.
We can work on a project, problem, skill, relationship or piece of equipment.
Phrasal verbs with “work”
Work out
Meaning 1: to exercise
- I work out three times a week to keep fit.
Common mistake: We normally say work out at the gym, not work out in the gym.
Meaning 2: to find an answer or solution
- Don’t worry—we’ll work out a solution together.
Meaning 3: to calculate something
- I’m trying to work out how much the journey will cost.
Meaning 4: to develop or end successfully
- Fortunately, everything worked out in the end.
Work over
Meaning 1: to examine, discuss or revise something carefully
- Let’s work over the report before submitting it.
This use is less common than go over or work through, but you may still encounter it.
Meaning 2: to attack someone physically
- In the film, the criminals threatened to work him over.
This meaning is informal and violent. It is most likely to appear in crime stories, films and informal conversations.
Work through
Meaning: to deal with, examine or complete something carefully and systematically
- Let’s work through the problem one step at a time.
- The students worked through all the practice exercises.
We often use work through when something requires time, patience or careful thought.
Work up
Meaning 1: to gradually develop a feeling or physical condition
- The long walk worked up my appetite.
Meaning 2: to make yourself worried, angry or excited
This meaning is commonly used in the form work yourself up.
- Try not to work yourself up before the interview.
Get worked up means to become very worried, angry or excited.
Work up to
Meaning: to gradually prepare for or reach something more difficult or demanding
- She began with short talks and slowly worked up to giving full presentations.
- I can currently run five kilometres, but I’m working up to a half marathon.
Commonly Confused Phrasal Verbs
Work at or work on?
Use work at when you make a continuing effort to become better at something:
- You need to work at your pronunciation.
Use work on when you spend time improving, developing or producing something:
- I’m working on a new pronunciation course.
Work out or work through?
Use work out when you find an answer or solution:
- We need to work out why the machine stopped.
Use work through when you examine or deal with something step by step:
- We need to work through each possible cause.
Work through or work around?
Use work through when you deal with a problem directly:
- We worked through our disagreements.
Use work around when you find a way to avoid or overcome an obstacle:
- The computer was unavailable, but we worked around the problem by using a tablet.
Quiz: Phrasal Verbs with WORK
Final Thoughts
Phrasal verbs with work are useful in many areas of English. They can help you talk about exercise, learning, problem-solving, emotions, progress and professional projects.
Choose three or four phrasal verbs from this lesson and write sentences connected with your own life. Personal examples are much easier to remember than isolated definitions.
Now do the quiz to check your understanding and perfect your knowledge of phrasal verbs with work.
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9 Phrasal Verbs that Express Emotions - My Lingua Academy · 6 Feb 2026 at 10:13 pm
[…] Learn 14 phrasal verbs with WORK here […]