Direct
Direct verb - To cause to move to a central point or along a restricted pathway.
Work
Work verb - To have a certain purpose.
Usage example: the human kidneys work as a filtering system for the blood
Direct and work are semantically related in operate topic. Sometimes you can use "Direct" instead a verb "Work", if it concerns topics such as manipulate.
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
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The failures of The Return and The Air I Breathe saw her turning to voice-over work and direct-to-video films, gradually fading from the mainstream.
Source: Hollywood Hype Machine -
These allow them to direct any ambient energy flow into doing work that they desire, without the need to touch the thing they want to move.
Source: Literature / Foundation - It can be (and is) modified by a Russian scientist into a nuclear bomb with some work and direct access to the blueprints, thanks to the fact that the woman who bankrolled and helped design the reactor was working with Bane.
Cite this Source
Work and Direct. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/direct/work
Direct & Work. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/direct/work>.
Work or Direct. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/direct/work.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "direct" and "work" have occurred on timeline