idiom · neutral
work around the clock
UK/wɜːk əˈraʊnd ðə ˈklɒk/US/wɝːk əˈraʊnd ðə ˈklɑːk/work·a·ROUND·the·CLOCK
to work continuously for a long time, especially to meet a deadline.
Examples
“The team worked around the clock to finish the prototype before the trade show.”
“During exam week, students often have to work around the clock.”
“We might need to work around the clock if we want to launch on schedule.”
Band 8 sentence
“During the final month before the product launch, the development team worked around the clock to iron out every major bug.”
Collocations
- work around the clock to + verb
- work around the clock on a project
Word family
Common mistakes
work all the clock→work around the clock
work the clock→work around the clock
Say it for a higher band
5work hard→6work long hours→7+work around the clock
Synonyms
work nonstop
labor continuously
Easily confused
burn the midnight oil
“We had to burn the midnight oil to finish the report.”
Related words
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In Work
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