Mot du jour: travail (work)

Pocket Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary © 2005 Oxford University Press:

travail, pl -aux /tʀavaj/ , /o/

1. masculine noun
   1. gen work;
      job;
      se mettre au ~ to get down to work;
      avoir du ~ to have work to do;
      les gros travaux the heavy work;
      (félicitations) c'est du beau ~! you've done a great job on that!;
      qu'est-ce que c'est que ce ~? what do you call this?;
      ne me téléphone pas à mon ~ don't call me at work;
      chercher du/un ~ to look for work/a job;
      être sans ~ to be out of work;
      le ~ temporaire temporary work;
      le ~ de nuit nightwork;
   2. Econ labour (BrE);
      entrer dans le monde du ~ to enter the world of work;
   3. le ~ musculaire muscular effort;
   4. le ~ de working with or in [metal, wood, stone];
   5. workmanship;
      un ~ superbe a superb piece of workmanship;
   6. (of water, erosion) action;
   7. (of wine) fermentation;
      (of wood) warping;
   8. (of woman in childbirth) labour (BrE).

2. travaux noun, masculine plural
   1. gen work;
      (on road) roadworks GB, roadwork US;
      faire faire des travaux dans sa maison to have work done in one's house;
   2. (of researcher) work;
   3. (of commission) deliberations;
   4. les travaux agricoles agricultural work;
      travaux de couture needlework.

COMPOUNDS:

~ à la chaîne assembly-line work;
~ à domicile working at or from home;
~ au noir gen work for which no earnings are declared;
(holding two jobs) moonlighting;
travaux manuels handicrafts;
travaux pratiques, TP practical work;
lab work;
travaux publics, TP civil engineering.