In its original, traditional sense, avodah was applied to sacrifices offered in the Temple in Jerusalem.
The word was also used to describe the epitome of sacrificial rite, the complex and fraught main service of the High Priest of Israel on Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement).
Today it refers to a liturgical reenactment of the aforementioned ceremony which is recited during the Mussaf Amidah of Yom Kippur.
[2] Avodah is one of the two concepts that underlie the ideology of the Bnei Akiva movement; the other is Torah.
The movement has therefore subtly redefined Avodah, to mean work that contributes towards the building up of the land of Israel.