Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

spadework

 noun
     
spade‧work [uncountable]
hard work that has to be done in preparation before something can happen [= legwork]:
Most of the spadework had been done by 1981.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary