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Work vs Help - What's the difference?

work | help |

In intransitive terms the difference between work and help

is that work is to behave in a certain way when handled while help is to provide assistance.

In transitive terms the difference between work and help

is that work is to cause to work while help is to avoid; to prevent; to refrain from; to restrain (oneself). Usually used in nonassertive contexts with can.

work

English

(wikipedia work)

Etymology 1

From (etyl) (m), (m), from (etyl) worc, weorc, . English cognates include bulwark, energy, erg, georgic, liturgy, metallurgy, organ, surgeon, wright.

Noun

  • Employment.
  • #Labour, occupation, job.
  • #:
  • #*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
  • #*:Come on, Nerissa; I have work in hand / That you yet know not of.
  • #*Bible, 2 (w) xxxi. 21
  • #*:In every work that he beganhe did it with all his heart, and prospered.
  • #*, chapter=15
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=Edward Churchill still attended to his work in a hopeless mechanical manner like a sleep-walker who walks safely on a well-known round. But his Roman collar galled him, his cossack stifled him, his biretta was as uncomfortable as a merry-andrew's cap and bells.}}
  • #The place where one is employed.
  • #:
  • Effort.
  • #Effort expended on a particular task.
  • #:
  • ##Sustained human effort to overcome obstacles and achieve a result.
  • ##:
  • #(lb) A measure of energy expended in moving an object; most commonly, force times distance. No work is done if the object does not move.
  • #:
  • #*{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Lee S. Langston, magazine=(American Scientist)
  • , title= The Adaptable Gas Turbine , passage=Turbines have been around for a long time—windmills and water wheels are early examples. The name comes from the Latin turbo , meaning "vortex", and thus the defining property of a turbine is that a fluid or gas turns the blades of a rotor, which is attached to a shaft that can perform useful work .}}
  • #(lb) A nonthermal First Law energy in transit between one form or repository and another. Also, a means of accomplishing such transit. See http://arxiv.org/pdf/physics/0004055.
  • Sustained effort to achieve a goal or result, especially overcoming obstacles.
  • :
  • *
  • *:The Bat—they called him the Bat. Like a bat he chose the night hours for his work of rapine; like a bat he struck and vanished, pouncingly, noiselessly; like a bat he never showed himself to the face of the day.
  • (lb) Product; the result of effort.
  • # The result of a particular manner of production.
  • #:
  • # Something produced using the specified material or tool.
  • #:
  • #(lb) A literary, artistic, or intellectual production.
  • #:
  • #:
  • #*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
  • #*:to leave no rubs or blotches in the work
  • #*(John Milton) (1608-1674)
  • #*:The work some praise, / And some the architect.
  • #*
  • #*:“[…] We are engaged in a great work , a treatise on our river fortifications, perhaps? But since when did army officers afford the luxury of amanuenses in this simple republic?”
  • #(lb) A fortification.
  • #:
  • The staging of events to appear as real.
  • (lb) Ore before it is dressed.
  • :(Raymond)
  • Synonyms
    * (employment) See also * (productive activity) See also
    Derived terms
    * artwork * at work * body of work * bodywork * breastwork * bridgework * busy work * casework * clockwork * derivative work * dirty work * dreamwork * earthwork * field work, fieldwork * finger work * firework * fretwork * groundwork * guesswork * hard work * handiwork * homework * housework * ironwork * leg work, legwork * lifework * masterwork * needlework * openwork * overwork * paintwork * paperwork * patchwork * piece of work * piecework * public works * reference work * road work, roadwork * schoolwork * shift work, shiftwork * spadework * teamwork * waterworks * waxwork * wickerwork * woodwork * work ethic * work of art * worklist * workly * workout * workplace * workroom * workshop * workstation * workstead * workup

    See also

    * -ing

    References

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) .

    Verb

  • To do a specific task by employing physical or mental powers.
  • # Followed by in'' (or ''at , etc.) Said of one's workplace (building), or one's department, or one's trade (sphere of business).
  • I work''' in a national park;  she '''works''' in the human resources department;  he mostly '''works in logging, but sometimes works in carpentry
  • # Followed by as . Said of one's job title
  • #* , chapter=17
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=This time was most dreadful for Lilian. Thrown on her own resources and almost penniless, she maintained herself and paid the rent of a wretched room near the hospital by working as a charwoman, sempstress, anything.}}
  • I work as a cleaner.
  • # Followed by for . Said of a company or individual who employs.
  • she works''' for Microsoft;  he '''works for the president
  • # Followed by with . General use, said of either fellow employees or instruments or clients.
  • I work''' closely with my Canadian counterparts;  you '''work''' with computers;  she '''works with the homeless people from the suburbs
  • To effect by gradual degrees.
  • he worked''' his way through the crowd;  the dye '''worked''' its way through;  using some tweezers, she '''worked the bee sting out of her hand
  • * Addison
  • So the pure, limpid stream, when foul with stains / Of rushing torrents and descending rains, / Works itself clear, and as it runs, refines, / Till by degrees the floating mirror shines.
  • To embroider with thread.
  • To set into action.
  • To cause to ferment.
  • To ferment.
  • * Francis Bacon
  • the working of beer when the barm is put in
  • To exhaust, by working.
  • To shape, form, or improve a material.
  • To operate in a certain place, area, or speciality.
  • To operate in or through; as, to work the phones.
  • To provoke or excite; to influence.
  • To use or manipulate to one’s advantage.
  • To cause to happen or to occur as a consequence.
  • To cause to work.
  • To function correctly; to act as intended; to achieve the goal designed for.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-21, author=(Oliver Burkeman)
  • , volume=189, issue=2, page=48, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= The tao of tech , passage=The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. Web companies like to boast about
  • (figuratively) To influence.
  • To effect by gradual degrees; as, to work into the earth.
  • To move in an agitated manner.
  • A ship works in a heavy sea.
  • * Addison
  • confused with working sands and rolling waves
  • To behave in a certain way when handled;
  • (transitive, with two objects, poetic) To cause (someone) to feel (something).
  • * {{quote-book, passage=So sad it seemed, and its cheek-bones gleamed, and its fingers flicked the shore; / And it lapped and lay in a weary way, and its hands met to implore; / That I gently said: “Poor, restless dead, I would never work you woe; / Though the wrong you rue you can ne’er undo, I forgave you long ago.”
  • , author=Robert W. Service , title=(Ballads of a Cheechako), chapter=(The Ballad of One-Eyed Mike), year=1909}}
  • (obsolete) To hurt; to ache.
  • * 1485 , Sir (Thomas Malory), ''(w, Le Morte d'Arthur), Book XXI:
  • ‘I wolde hit were so,’ seyde the Kynge, ‘but I may nat stonde, my hede worchys so—’
    Derived terms
    * work at * work off * work on * work out * work over * work up * rework * worker * working * work it * work like a beaver * work like a charm * work like a dog * work like a horse * work like a Trojan * work the crowd * work the room * work to rule * work wonders

    help

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl), from (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en-noun)
  • (uncountable) Action given to provide assistance; aid.
  • I need some help with my homework.
  • (usually, uncountable) Something or someone which provides assistance with a task.
  • He was a great help to me when I was moving house.
    I've printed out a list of math helps .
  • Documentation provided with computer software, etc. and accessed using the computer.
  • I can't find anything in the help about rotating an image.
  • (usually, uncountable) One or more people employed to help in the maintenance of a house or the operation of a farm or enterprise.
  • The help is coming round this morning to clean.
    Most of the hired help is seasonal, for the harvest.
  • (uncountable, euphemistic) Correction of deficits, as by psychological counseling or medication or social support or remedial training.
  • His suicide attempts were a cry for help .
    He really needs help in handling customer complaints.
    ''"He's a real road-rager." / "Yup, he really needs help , maybe anger management."
    Usage notes
    The sense "people employed to help in the maintenance of a house" is usually an uncountable mass noun. A countable form - "a hired help''", "''two hired helps " - is attested, but now less common.
    Synonyms
    * (action given to provide assistance) aid, assistance * (person or persons who provide assistance) * (person employed to help in the maintenance of a house)
    Derived terms
    * cry for help * help desk * helpful * helpless * helpline * helply * helpmate * helpmeet * helpsome * home help * self-help

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) helpen, from (etyl) . Cognate with (etyl) .

    Verb

  • To provide assistance to (someone or something).
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=76, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= Snakes and ladders , passage=Risk is everywhere.
  • To contribute in some way to.
  • To provide assistance.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
  • , chapter=19 citation , passage=As soon as Julia returned with a constable, Timothy, who was on the point of exhaustion, prepared to give over to him gratefully. The newcomer turned out to be a powerful youngster, fully trained and eager to help , and he stripped off his tunic at once.}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-29, volume=407, issue=8842, page=72-3, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= A punch in the gut , passage=Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.}}
  • To avoid; to prevent; to refrain from; to restrain (oneself). Usually used in nonassertive contexts with can .
  • Usage notes
    * Use 3 is often used in the imperative mood as a call for assistance. * In uses 1, 2 and 3, this is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive . It can also take the bare infinitive with no change in meaning. * In use 4, can't help is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing) or, with but, the bare infinitive. * For more information, see
    Synonyms
    * (provide assistance to) aid, assist, come to the aid of, help out * (contribute in some way to) contribute to * (provide assistance) assist
    Derived terms
    * a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down * can't help * helper * helping * help oneself * help out