Home › Words › W › workpanworkpanworkpan means A pan that is part of a machine or system that holds the work that the machine or system operates on.EtymologyFrom work + pan.nounA pan that is part of a machine or system that holds the work that the machine or system operates on.e.g.“These racks can be carried about and used as workpans or, because of the brackets on their sides, can be stacked one in the other and so used as bins.” — 1948, Transport Management: The British Journal of Trade and Transport, page 46:Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).