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make-work

 - 4 dictionary results

make-work

  [meyk-wurk]
Use make-work in a Sentence
–noun
work, usually of little importance, created to keep a person from being idle or unemployed.
Origin:
1935–40, Americanism; n. use of v. phrase make work
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To make-work
make-work   (māk'wûrk')
n.  Work of little value assigned or taken on only to keep someone from being idle.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Cultural Dictionary

make-work

Publicly provided employment that is designed primarily to relieve unemployment and only incidentally to accomplish important tasks. If private employers are hiring few people because of a business slump, the government can “make work” for people to do.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

make-work 
"busy-work, activity of no value," 1937, Amer.Eng., from make (v.) + work.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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