paperwork

[ pey-per-wurk ]

noun

1. written or clerical work, as records or reports, forming a necessary but often a routine and secondary part of some work or job.

paperwork

/ ˈpeɪpəˌwɜːk /

noun

1. clerical work, such as the completion of forms or the writing of reports or letters

Word History and Origins

Origin of paperwork¹

First recorded in 1580–90; paper + work

Example Sentences

What they talk about instead is a much more modest ambition of making it harder to cross borders without the right paperwork, reducing the number who do so and disrupting the people smugglers.

From BBC

Immigration and Customs Enforcement later inspected the Chula Vista paperwork and issued a warning notice, records show, meaning it found violations that needed to be fixed.

From New York Times

They can’t have a funeral unless his body is brought back to Poland — a process that involves various expenses and paperwork, for which Ola’s mother dispatches her barely-adult daughter alone to Dublin.

From New York Times

Others are put off by the process, which can take months to years of submitting paperwork, attending hearings and waiting for final determination.

From Los Angeles Times

In his paperwork, Jackson included a transcript of what he said was a conversation between himself and Palmer’s mother, Sharon, where she berated him with homophobic insults.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• filing

More About Paperwork

What does paperwork mean?

Paperwork is the task of filling out forms, especially when they’re literally on paper.

More generally, paperwork refers to routine clerical and administrative work like recordkeeping and processing documents (regardless of whether they’re on paper).

Paperwork can be done as part of one’s job (the boring part), or in any setting that involves filling out forms, such as buying a house or a car or applying for a job. Doing so is often referred to as filling out (the) paperwork, doing (the) paperwork, or completing (the) paperwork.

Paperwork is a collective noun, meaning it appears in a singular form but refers to such tasks as a group.

Example: Applying for a job with the government required her to fill out an incredible amount of paperwork about her family history, education, and travel activity.

Where does paperwork come from?

The word paperwork has been used since the late 1500s (to refer to things like literary works), but the first records of it being used to refer to the work of filling out documents and such come from the 1860s. Other words are formed using the word work in a similar way, such as yardwork and drudgework (which a lot of people might use as a synonym for paperwork).

Everyone hates paperwork. It takes a lot of time and it’s tedious. But most people have to do it, at least once in a while. A lot of the time, paperwork is part of your job (especially the administrative part of your job that doesn’t have much to do with getting your actual job done). But there are a lot of other situations in which you have to fill out paperwork: job applications, tax forms, registration papers.

More of these processes are becoming paperless—meaning they’re done without using actual paper—but that doesn’t mean the paperwork is going away. People still often refer to such tasks as paperwork.

Did you know ... ?

What are some synonyms for paperwork?

• filing
• administrative work

What are some words that share a root or word element with paperwork? 

• paper
• work
• drudgework
• busywork
• yardwork
• paperback

What are some words that often get used in discussing paperwork?

 

• form
• document
• fill out
• complete
• red tape
• bureaucracy
• taxes

How is paperwork used in real life?

Life has a lot of paperwork, and the word is used in all kinds of contexts that involve a lot of forms, especially legal documents. When people discuss paperwork, it’s often to complain about there being too much.

Ariana Grande is turning her ongoing "Sweetener" tour into a voter-registration drive, partnering with the nonprofit org. HeadCount to get concertgoers to complete the paperwork that makes them eligible to cast ballots in the 2020 presidential race. https://t.co/N4txoOqs3n

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) March 22, 2019

There is absolutely no reason I should have to fill out 3 pages of FMLA paperwork so a parent can stay home with a new baby.

They had a baby. Literally all you need to know. And you don't need me to sign it.

— Chad Hayes, MD 😷 (@chadhayesmd) May 15, 2020

Being a human involves too much paperwork.

— the Real Clem Shady (@cpsemple) October 13, 2019

 

 

Try using paperwork!

Which of the following words is MOST likely to be used to describe paperwork?

A. interesting
B. fun
C. tedious
D. enjoyable