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Office & Administration vocabulary · Office Roles & Everyday Admin

Paperwork

Meaning in office & administration, with examples

/ˈpeɪpəwɜːk/nounCore term

In office & administration, paperwork means: The forms, letters, records and other documents that must be prepared, completed or checked as part of a job or process.

In Turkish: evrak işleri, kağıt işleri, yazışma ve evrak

How it is used

Often has a slightly negative feel: boring but necessary work. Common in phrases like "do the paperwork", "sort out the paperwork" and "drown in paperwork". It is still called paperwork when the forms are digital.

Example sentences

  1. I'll finish the paperwork for the new starter before lunch.

  2. The contract can't go ahead until all the paperwork is signed.

Common collocations

  • do the paperwork
  • sort out the paperwork
  • a pile of paperwork
  • reduce paperwork
  • documentA piece of written, printed or electronic material that gives information or official proof of something, such as a contract, report or certificate.
  • formA document with spaces where you write or type information, used to apply for something, request something or record details in a standard way.
  • adminShort for administration: the everyday organising work of an office, such as emails, filing, scheduling, forms and keeping records up to date.
  • fill inTo complete a form or document by writing the required information in the empty spaces.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Office Roles & Everyday Admin

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