Meaning & use
telework
Last updated
Meaning
verbintransitive
To do your job from home or another place away from the office, using computers and telecommunications.
Grammar: No object; often used with 'from home' or 'from a remote location'.
Patterns
- telework from home
- telework full-time
- telework one day a week
Many employees now telework from home two days a week.
She teleworks full-time for a company in another state.
The policy allows staff to telework when their tasks permit.
Word forms
| third person singular | teleworks |
|---|---|
| past tense | teleworked |
| past participle | teleworked |
| -ing form | teleworking |
Common combinations
- telework from home
- He teleworks from home on Fridays.
- telework full-time
- She teleworks full-time for a tech company.
- telework policy
- The company updated its telework policy.
- telework arrangement
- They have a telework arrangement with their employer.
Synonyms and how they differ
- telecommute
- Almost the same meaning, but 'telecommute' is more common in everyday speech.
- work from home
- More general and informal; does not necessarily involve telecommunications.
- work remotely
- Broader: can mean working from any location, not just home.
Opposites
Word family
- teleworker noun
- A person who teleworks.
- teleworking noun
- The practice of doing your job remotely.
Commonly confused: telework or telecommute?
telework vs telecommute
Very similar, but 'telecommute' is more common in American English and everyday conversation.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'telework' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Telework' is intransitive and is followed by 'from' to show the location: 'telework from home'. The other options use the wrong preposition or make it transitive, which is not correct.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “telework”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.