Works usually means creations or productions made by an artist, writer, or composer. When you visit a museum and see “The Works of Pablo Picasso,” you're looking at his paintings and sculptures. A library might have a section for “The Complete Works of Mark Twain,” meaning all the books and stories he wrote. Musicians study the works of Bach or Beethoven. The word captures everything someone has created during their career.

The word also means the moving parts inside a machine or system. When a watchmaker opens a pocket watch to examine the works, they're looking at all the tiny gears, springs, and mechanisms that make it tick. You might say someone threw a wrench in the works when they accidentally disrupted a plan.

As a verb, works describes functioning or operating: “This old radio still works!” It can also mean putting effort into something: “She works hard at piano practice.” When something works out, it succeeds or turns out well.

The phrase the whole works means everything included: “We ordered pizza with the whole works,” meaning every possible topping.