trabalhar

Senses

1. 1.

   to work

   to perform labor or be engaged in professional activity

2. 2.

   to work

   to operate or function (of a machine, system, etc.)

3. 3.

   to work

   to exercise or train the body (of muscles, animals, etc.)

4. 4.

   to handle or manipulate

   to knead, shape, or process a material

Examples

• "Eu trabalho em uma empresa de tecnologia."

  I work for a technology company.

• "A máquina está trabalhando perfeitamente."

  The machine is working perfectly.

• "O padeiro trabalha a massa todo dia."

  The baker kneads the dough every day.

Usage

Core verb in Brazilian Portuguese; highly frequent in both formal and informal contexts. Common in expressions like "trabalhar duro" (to work hard), "trabalhar por conta própria" (to be self-employed), and "ter trabalho" (to have work/be busy). Note: rarely translated as "work on" without a preposition-use "trabalhar em" or "trabalhar com" to be explicit.