Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

work-to-rule

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.90 in modern English

Syllables: work--to-rule
IPA

17

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

4

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A labor protest in which employees do only the minimum work required by the rules of a workplace, following safety or other regulations to the letter in order to cause a slowdown.

adj

Of or pertaining to such a protest.

Example Sentences

"Disgruntled by chronic staff shortages, doctors threatened a “work-to-rule” action at the East London Hospital Complex by the end of this week."

Etymology

Deverbal from work to rule.

Inflected Forms

work-to-rules (plural) work to rule (alternative, noun)

Questions

What does work-to-rule mean?: A labor protest in which employees do only the minimum work required by the rules of a workplace, following safety or other regulations to the letter in order to cause a slowdown.
Where does work-to-rule come from?: Deverbal from work to rule.

How to pronounce work-to-rule

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