workflow

Etymology

It is formed from English work + flow.^[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The sequence of processes through which a piece of work passes: the OED's first record is a caption of 1921 in the Journal of the Institute of Transport.^[2] Etymonline dates the word to 1949, also spelled work-flow,^[3] and Dictionary.com to 1945–50.^[4]

Timeline

• 1921 – the sequence of processes through which a piece of work passes from start to finish.^[2] Etymonline dates it to 1949, Dictionary.com to 1945–50.^[3][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. The sequence of industrial, administrative or other steps through which a piece of work passes from start to completion: The new software simplified the newsroom's workflow.^[2][3][5]
2. The flow or progress of the work done by a company, department or person.^[6]
3. The rate at which such work moves along.^[6]

Related words

• work
• flow

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin