workplace

workplace — noun

1. the place — for example, an office tower, a shop, or a factory — where someone g

1.nounC1
Definition

the place — for example, an office tower, a shop, or a factory — where someone goes to carry out their paid work

Example

A new café opened on the ground floor of Hari's workplace this week.

at [possessive] workplace — common collocation for physical location

The company wants to make the workplace safer for all employees.

make the workplace [adjective] — pattern with complement

Common collocations
  • the modern workplace
  • a safe workplace
  • workplace environment
  • workplace culture
Synonyms
  • office

    narrower — usually a room or building for desk-based professional work

  • worksite

    narrower — often used for outdoor or temporary job locations such as a construction area

  • place of work

    more formal; typically appears in legal or official documents

Antonyms
  • home

    the place where someone lives, as opposed to where they work

Grammar Patterns

at [possessive] workplace

in the workplace

Usage Note

Unlike more specific words such as office or factory, workplace does not describe the type of work setting. It frequently appears with possessive determiners (my workplace, her workplace) and with the definite article in general statements (the modern workplace).

Common Mistakes

I left my phone at work.
I left my phone at my workplace.
work as a noun refers to the activity, not the physical place; use workplace when you mean the building or room.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Workplace is the broadest term, covering any physical location where paid work happens — from a corporate tower to a construction zone. Office is narrower, typically a room or building where professional or administrative tasks are done at desks with computers. Factory refers specifically to a large building where goods are produced using machinery. Worksite is often used for outdoor or temporary settings such as a building project or road repair. Place of work is a formal full-phrase alternative, common in legal or official language. For example: 'The new policy applies to every workplace in the region.' 'She arrives at her office by eight each morning.' 'The factory employs over a thousand workers.' 'Mud made the worksite difficult to walk through.'

office ↗worksitefactory ↗place of work

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • in the workplace
  • at the workplace
  • return to the workplace
  • workplace of the future

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

Workplace is a compound formed from the Old English nouns weorc (effort, task) and plæse (an open space, a street). The two words were first joined in English around the early 1800s as a direct combination meaning 'a place where work is carried out.'