Work around or workaround?
work around is a verb meaning “the words work and around, each in its own sense”; workaround is a noun meaning “A means or method of circumventing an obstacle, particularly one arising from…”. Use work around as a verb and workaround as a noun. work around is written as two words and workaround as one word; they are used differently.
What is the difference between work around and workaround?
| work around | workaround | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | verb, noun | noun |
| Meaning | Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see work, around To bypass or circumvent (a problem or obstacle) | A means or method of circumventing an obstacle, particularly one arising from constraints, laws or regulatory requirements A procedure or a temporary fix that bypasses a problem and allows a user to continue working until a better solution can be provided |
| Example | He works around the corner in the fish shop | none recorded |
| Forms | none | workarounds |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | /ˈwɜːk.əɹaʊnd/ |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | about once in every 2 million words |
Sources: work around and workaround in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of work around and workaround
work around
- 1
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see work, around
He works around the corner in the fish shop
- 2
Alternative form of workaround
- 3
To bypass or circumvent (a problem or obstacle)
If we can't fix this problem, we'll just have to work around it
workaround
- 1
A means or method of circumventing an obstacle, particularly one arising from constraints, laws or regulatory requirements
- 2
A procedure or a temporary fix that bypasses a problem and allows a user to continue working until a better solution can be provided
- 3
An impromptu and temporary response to an unforeseen problem or risk
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, work around or workaround?
work around is a phrase, which the list of single words does not count; workaround about once in every 2 million words.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search work around vs workaround?
“work around vs workaround” is searched about 10 times a month on Google and 10 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“workaround vs work around”, “work around or workaround”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.