paperwork

Everyday

1. Forms, letters, reports and other papers that must be filled in or kept, especially for school, work or the government. tree →
2. The boring work of writing, filling in and sorting such papers, often seen as getting in the way of real work. tree →
3. (informal) Any official record, even on a computer, such as online forms. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life adults talk about paperwork for a new house, a passport, a school trip or a doctor's visit; a permission slip is paperwork too. In stories a tired teacher or officer sits behind «piles of paperwork». In school maths it can be a word problem about sheets or forms to be counted or shared. Phrases: «do the paperwork», «fill in the paperwork», «a pile of paperwork», «drowning in paperwork», «sort out the paperwork».

Examples

• Dad stayed up late doing the paperwork for our new car. tree →
• You must hand in the paperwork before the school trip. tree →
• The vet asked us to fill in some paperwork about our dog. tree →
• Mrs Lee had a mountain of paperwork on her desk. tree →
• The police officer said the paperwork would take an hour. tree →
• Each form in the paperwork had 4 pages, and there were 12 forms. tree →
• Moving house means lots of paperwork. tree →
• "Ugh, more paperwork," groaned the coach. tree →

Note

Uncountable: say «a lot of paperwork», «some paperwork», «a piece of paperwork», never «a paperwork» or «paperworks». It is one word. Often sounds slightly negative — dull but necessary.