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Meaning of "donkey work" in the English dictionary

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DICTIONARY
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PRONUNCIATION OF DONKEY WORK

donkey work  [ˈdɒŋkɪ wɜːk] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF DONKEY WORK

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Donkey work is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES DONKEY WORK MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Definition of donkey work in the English dictionary

The definition of donkey work in the dictionary is the donkey work difficult, boring, or routine workto do all the donkey work.


WORDS THAT RHYME WITH DONKEY WORK


artwork
ˈɑːtˌwɜːk
bodywork
ˈbɒdɪˌwɜːk
clockwork
ˈklɒkˌwɜːk
coursework
ˈkɔːsˌwɜːk
fieldwork
ˈfiːldˌwɜːk
firework
ˈfaɪəˌwɜːk
framework
ˈfreɪmˌwɜːk
groundwork
ˈɡraʊndˌwɜːk
homework
ˈhəʊmˌwɜːk
housework
ˈhaʊsˌwɜːk
needlework
ˈniːdəlˌwɜːk
network
ˈnɛtˌwɜːk
paperwork
ˈpeɪpəˌwɜːk
patchwork
ˈpætʃˌwɜːk
rework
riːˈwɜːk
teamwork
ˈtiːmˌwɜːk
waxwork
ˈwæksˌwɜːk
wickerwork
ˈwɪkəˌwɜːk
woodwork
ˈwʊdˌwɜːk
work
wɜːk

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE DONKEY WORK

doning
Donizetti
donjon
donkey
donkey derby
donkey engine
donkey jacket
donkey ride
donkey vote
donkey-lick
donkey-work
donkey´s years
donko
Donleavy
Donna
donnard
donnat
Donne
donned

WORDS THAT END LIKE DONKEY WORK

all in a day´s work
at work
charity work
contract work
course work
detective work
dirty work
field work
group work
life´s work
maid of all work
neural network
office work
out of work
outside work
police work
research work
rough work
social work
voluntary work
welfare work

Synonyms and antonyms of donkey work in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «donkey work» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF DONKEY WORK

Find out the translation of donkey work to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of donkey work from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «donkey work» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

单调乏味的工作
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

trabajo de burro
570 millions of speakers

English

donkey work
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

गधा काम
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

العمل حمار
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

осел работы
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

trabalho de burro
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

গাধা কাজ
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

gros travail
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Kerja keldai
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Esel Arbeit
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

ロバの仕事
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

당나귀 작업
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Kelingan karya
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

nghề chăn lừa
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

கழுதை வேலை
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

गाढव काम
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

Eşek işi
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

lavoro asino
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

osioł pracy
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

осел роботи
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

lucru măgar
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

γάιδαρος εργασία
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

donkie werk
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

åsna arbete
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

esel arbeid
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of donkey work

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «DONKEY WORK»

The term «donkey work» is normally little used and occupies the 129.552 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Little used
40
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «donkey work» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of donkey work
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «donkey work».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «DONKEY WORK» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «donkey work» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «donkey work» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about donkey work

EXAMPLES

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «DONKEY WORK»

Discover the use of donkey work in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to donkey work and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Donkey Work
You would have thought that having two curious Siamese cats and a tortoise with wanderlust was enough. Not so for Doreen and her husband Charles, who decide to take on a baby donkey to keep the nettles under control in the orchard.
Doreen Tovey, 2009
2
Melchior Wankowicz: Poland’s Master of the Written Word
Chapter Ten “Work, Donkey, Work” One day Wankowicz deposited on my desk a postcard showing a small donkey hitched up to a two-wheel trolley overpacked “ to the hilt” with crates. The poor donkey wore a truly pained expression. Shortly ...
Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm, 2013
3
Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms
2005 The Register I get the Systems guys to do all the donkey work once I'm sure it's up and running properly. for donkey's years for a very long time. informal o For donkey'syears is a pun referring to the length of a donkey's ears and playing ...
John Ayto, 2010
4
A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English
It does the 'donkey work'.—9. A sewing-machine: RN lowerdeck: since ca. 1890. ( Goodenough, 1901; Knock.) The pl. donkeys tends to mean 'sewing-machines, mechanics' tools, sea-chests' (Knock).10. See ride the donkey; talk the hind leg ...
Eric Partridge, 2006
5
Chambers Idioms
donkey work hard, unrewarding part of any task: We now have a computer to do the donkey work. talk the hind leg off a donkey (derog) to talk a great deal and for a long time: / like his little girl, but she would talk the hind leg off a donkey! door ...
6
The Wordsworth Dictionary of Idioms
[From a pun on 'donkey's ears' — which are very long.] donkey work hard, unrewarding part of any task: We now have a computer to do the donkey work. talk the hind leg off a donkey (derog) to talk a great deal and for a long time: / like his little ...
Elizabeth McLaren Kirkpatrick, C. M. Schwarz, 1993
7
Seasons of Grace: Inspirational Resources for the Christian Year
They do the donkey-work, quite literally, and they were highly prized, especially the females. I don't think they were ever sacrificed — perhaps they were more valuable alive. For example, there was a donkey who spoke: Balaam's ass.
Ann Lewin, 2011
8
Oxford Dictionary of English
... with responsibilities in a ship's engine room: [as modifier] a donkeyman greaser. donkey work 7noun [mass noun] Brit. informal the boring or laborious part of a job; drudgery: supervisors who get a research student to do the donkey work.
Angus Stevenson, 2010
9
Untitled
A an animal like a small horse with long ears "idioms do (all) the donkey work uk informal to do the hard, boring part of a job: Why should I do all the donkey work while you sit around doing nothing? . donkey's years uk informal a very long ...
10
Chambers Universal Learners' Dictionary
'donkey-work nu (in/) hard, uninteresting work: We have a computer now, which saves us a lot of donkey-work. 'donkey's years/ages (in/) a very long time: / haven 't seen htm in donkey 's ages ; It 's donkey 's years since I was last there. donor ...

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «DONKEY WORK»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term donkey work is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Ashes 2015, England v Australia, first Test - Joe Root scores superb …
... Cup in Starc's case to the diffident quick of the Oval in 2013, but if England see them off someone's going to have to do Harris's donkey work. «Telegraph.co.uk, Jul 15»
2
Ashes 2015, England v Australia, first Test- live: Alastair Cook has …
... Cup in Starc's case to the diffident quick of the Oval in 2013, but if England see them off someone's going to have to do Harris's donkey work. «Telegraph.co.uk, Jul 15»
3
Reddit meltdown: Top chat boards hidden as rebellion breaks out
Taylor, who has the handle chooter on the message board, was a troubleshooter for the volunteer moderators who do all the donkey work on ... «The Register, Jul 15»
4
Missing daughter brings back memories of childhood abduction for …
“With the rail out, he'll no doubt roll forward and his effort to run sixth after doing the donkey work was strong the other day. The horse is going ... «Perth Now, Jul 15»
5
Hills, heat and hosiery – Tour de France 2015 explained
Team members who are judged unlikely to challenge the leaders, called domestiques, tend to do the donkey work. That can mean fetching ... «euronews, Jul 15»
6
Shrek's ogre the top adventure arrives in London from kingdom of …
Donkey work: Muffin Man stirs it up with guests at Shrek's Adventure! London. Shrek's Adventure! was an immersive experience, and seems to ... «Mirror.co.uk, Jun 15»
7
I miss Dhewa: Macheso
We have completed all the donkey work and we are now just making final touches,” he said. “We took a bit of time on the production because ... «NewsDay, Jun 15»
8
Mud-horse magic - seasonal sea-fish at its best
... is more-or-less retired but still works as the frontman selling the seafood caught by his son Adrian, who does the tough donkey work. «Western Morning News, Jun 15»
9
Forget the sales, hit the rails
Hence, the pre-collections exist to do fashion's donkey work, just like those great character actors who crop up in dramas starring bigger ... «Financial Times, Jun 15»
10
Reality checking the oil gauge
As I've noted before, the Treasury approach to taxing offshore energy has moved from cash cow to donkey work, with government providing ... «BBC News, Jun 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Donkey work [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/donkey-work>. Apr 2024 ».
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