Work out or workout?
work out is a verb meaning “To calculate”; workout is a noun meaning “An exercise session; a period of physical exercise”. Use work out as a verb and workout as a noun. work out is written as two words and workout as one word; they are used differently.
What is the difference between work out and workout?
| work out | workout | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | verb | noun |
| Meaning | To calculate To make sense of | An exercise session; a period of physical exercise A schedule or program of specific exercises, especially one intended to achieve a particular goal |
| Example | Can you work out 250 × 12 in your head for me? | I read in another magazine about a workout that can put a whole inch on your arms in just one day! |
| Forms | none | workouts |
| Pronunciation | /ˌwɜːk ˈaʊt/ /ˌwɝk ˈaʊt/ | /ˈwɜːk.aʊ̯t/ /ˈwɝk.aʊ̯t/ |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | 10 times per million words |
Sources: work out and workout 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 out and workout
work out
- 1
To calculate
Can you work out 250 × 12 in your head for me?
- 2
To make sense of
I can't work these instructions out
- 3
To decide
I can't work out if I like him or not
- 4
To bring about or cause to happen by work or effort
Near-synonyms: hash out, hammer out
- 5
To resolve; to find a solution for
Near-synonyms: straighten out, sort out
- 6
To develop or devise in detail; to elaborate
Near-synonyms: plan out, lay out
- 7
To smooth or perfect
Near-synonyms: iron out, smooth out
- 8
To conclude with the correct solution
Near-synonym: add up
workout
- 1
An exercise session; a period of physical exercise
- 2
A schedule or program of specific exercises, especially one intended to achieve a particular goal
I read in another magazine about a workout that can put a whole inch on your arms in just one day!
- 3
Any activity that requires much physical or mental effort, or produces strain
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 out or workout?
work out is a phrase, which the list of single words does not count; workout 10 times per 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 out vs workout?
“work out vs workout” is searched about 210 times a month on Google and 20 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“workout vs work out”, “work out or workout”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.