workaholic

workaholic — noun

1. someone who feels a strong, often uncontrollable need to work all the time, even

1.nounB2
Definition

someone who feels a strong, often uncontrollable need to work all the time, even when it harms their health, relationships, or personal life

Example

Mayumi realised she had become a workaholic when she started sleeping at the office.

collocation: become a workaholic

The doctor told Vinícius that his heart problems were caused by being a workaholic.

collocation: being a workaholic + cause-and-effect

Common collocations
  • become a workaholic
  • turn into a workaholic
  • self-confessed workaholic
  • recovering workaholic
  • workaholic tendencies
  • workaholic lifestyle
  • workaholic habits
Synonyms
  • workhorse

    someone who works hard without complaint, but without the compulsive or negative connotation of a workaholic

  • busy bee

    informal, describes someone always busy, but lacks the sense of addiction or harm

  • perfectionist

    focuses on doing things perfectly, not necessarily on working long hours

Antonyms
  • slacker

    someone who avoids work or effort; the opposite extreme

  • idler

    someone who spends time doing nothing useful

Grammar Patterns

workaholic + noun (attributive use)

become / turn into + a workaholic

Usage Note

Commonly carries a negative or self-critical tone in informal contexts. Describes someone whose work habits are seen as excessive rather than simply dedicated.

Common Mistakes

❖ 'My boss is a workaholic person.' ✅ 'My boss is a workaholic.' — workaholic already means a person, so adding 'person' is redundant.

❖ 'He is a workaholic of programming.' ✅ 'He is a workaholic about programming.' or 'He is a programming workaholic.' — workaholic does not take 'of'; use an adjective or 'about' instead.

Word family

  • workaholism
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

While all three words describe people with a strong focus on work or tasks, they differ in connotation and implication. A workaholic has a compulsive, often harmful need to work — the behaviour is driven by addiction rather than choice. A workhorse works hard and reliably without complaint, but the tone is neutral or admiring, not critical. Busy bee is a light, informal term for someone who stays active and occupied, with no suggestion of compulsion or excess. A perfectionist cares about flawless results rather than long hours, so they may spend extra time polishing details, but the motivation is quality, not addiction. For example: 'My uncle is a workaholic who never takes weekends off' vs. 'She is a workhorse who gets through twice as much work as anyone else' vs. 'Grandma is a busy bee in the garden every morning' vs. 'As a perfectionist, he rewrote the report three times.'

workhorsebusy beeperfectionist ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • workaholic tendencies
  • workaholic lifestyle
  • workaholic habits
  • workaholic behaviour

Phrases

  • self-confessed workaholic
  • recovering workaholic
  • admitted workaholic
  • a bit of a workaholic

Etymology

EnglishGreek (via alcoholic)Modern English

Workaholic was coined in the late 1960s by the American psychologist Wayne Oates. He blended 'work' with 'alcoholic' to describe people who had such a strong need to work that it resembled an addiction. The '-aholic' suffix has since been used to form other playful addiction words such as shopaholic and chocoholic.