overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

working.

Operation; action.

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈwɜːkɪŋ/Received-Pronunciation/ˈwɝkɪŋ/General-American
  1. Operation; action.

    countable · plural-normally · uncountable
  2. Method of operation.

    countable · uncountable
  3. The incidental or subsidiary calculations performed in solving an overall problem.

    countable · uncountable
    Be sure to check your working.
  4. Fermentation.

    countable · uncountable
  5. Becoming full of a vegetable substance.

    countable · uncountable
  6. A place where work is carried on.

    countable · uncountable
    the abandoned mine workings
  7. A train movement.

    countable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English werking, werkynge, warkynge, worchinge, from Old English wyrċing (“working”), verbal noun of wyrċan (“to work”), equivalent to work + -ing. Cognate with Scots wirking, warking, Dutch werking, German Wirkung.

adj/ˈwɜːkɪŋ/Received-Pronunciation/ˈwɝkɪŋ/General-American
  1. That is or are functioning.

    not-comparable
    a working ventilator
  2. That suffices but requires additional work; provisional.

    not-comparable
    a working copy of the script
    a working title
  3. In paid employment.

    not-comparable
    Working mothers have recently joined the factory's workforce.
  4. Of or relating to employment.

    not-comparable
    the working week
  5. Enough to allow one to use something.

    not-comparable
    have a working knowledge of computers
  6. Used in real life; practical.

    not-comparable
    The working minimum focus distance is the distance from the closest focusable subject to the lens.
  7. Efficacious.

    not-comparable · obsolete
Where this word comes from

From Middle English workyng, wirkynge, worchinge, werchinge, workinde, wirkand, worchende, wurchende, from Old English wyrċende, from Proto-Germanic *wurkijandz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *wurkijaną (“to work”), equivalent to work + -ing. Compare Scots wirkand, werkand, warkand (“working”), Dutch werkend (“working, acting”), German wirkend (“acting, working”).

verb/ˈwɜːkɪŋ/Received-Pronunciation/ˈwɝkɪŋ/General-American
  1. present participle and gerund of work

    form-of · gerund · participle · present
    Leave him alone; he’s working.
Where this word comes from

From Middle English workyng, wirkynge, worchinge, werchinge, workinde, wirkand, worchende, wurchende, from Old English wyrċende, from Proto-Germanic *wurkijandz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *wurkijaną (“to work”), equivalent to work + -ing. Compare Scots wirkand, werkand, warkand (“working”), Dutch werkend (“working, acting”), German wirkend (“acting, working”).

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

working has 7 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

working studioworking workshello, working

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.