toil

toil
toil1 [tɔıl] v [I always + adverb/preposition]
[Date: 1200-1300; : Anglo-French; Origin: toiller, from Old French toeillier 'to disturb, argue', from Latin tudiculare 'to crush', from tudicula 'machine for crushing olives', from tudes 'hammer']
1.) also toil away
to work very hard for a long period of time
toil at
I've been toiling away at this essay all weekend.
2.) literary to move slowly and with great effort
toil up/through/along etc
They toiled slowly up the hill.
toil 2
toil2 n [U] formal
[Sense: 1; Date: 1300-1400; : Anglo-French; Origin: toyl, from Old French toeil 'battle, confusion', from toeillier; TOIL1]
[Sense: 2; Date: 1500-1600; Origin: toil 'net' (16-19 centuries), from French toile; TOILET]
1.) hard unpleasant work done over a long period
a life of toil
2.) the toils of sth
literary if you are caught in the toils of an unpleasant feeling or situation, you are trapped by it

Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.

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  • Toil — Toil, n. [OE. toil turmoil, struggle; cf. OD. tuyl labor, work. See {Toil}, v.] Labor with pain and fatigue; labor that oppresses the body or mind, esp. the body. [1913 Webster] My task of servile toil. Milton. [1913 Webster] After such bloody… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • toil — toil1 [toil] vi. [ME toilen < Anglo Fr toiler, to strive, dispute < OFr toeillier, to pull about, begrime < L tudiculare, to stir about < tudicula, small machine for bruising olives < tudes, mallet < base of tundere, to beat… …   English World dictionary

  • Toil — Toil, n. [F. toiles, pl., toils, nets, fr. toile cloth, canvas, spider web, fr. L. tela any woven stuff, a web, fr. texere to weave. See {Text}, and cf. {Toilet}.] A net or snare; any thread, web, or string spread for taking prey; usually in the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Toil — Toil, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Toiled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Toiling}.] [OE. toilen to pull about, to toil; of uncertain origin; cf. OD. teulen, tuylen, to labor, till, or OF. tooillier, toailler, to wash, rub (cf. {Towel}); or perhaps ultimately from… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • TOIL — index effort, endeavor (noun), endeavor (verb), industry (activity), labor (work), labor, persevere …   Law dictionary

  • Toil — Toil, v. t. 1. To weary; to overlabor. [Obs.] Toiled with works of war. Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. To labor; to work; often with out. [R.] [1913 Webster] Places well toiled and husbanded. Holland. [1913 Webster] [I] toiled out my uncouth passage.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • toil — [n] hard work application, drudgery, effort, exertion, industry, labor, moil, nine to five*, occupation, pains*, sweat, travail; concepts 100,362,677 Ant. entertainment, fun, pastime toil [v] work hard drive, drudge, grind, knock oneself out*,… …   New thesaurus

  • TOIL — UK US /tɔɪl/ noun [U] UK HR ► ABBREVIATION for TIME OFF IN LIEU(Cf. ↑time off in lieu) → See also COMPENSATORY TIME(Cf. ↑compensatory time) …   Financial and business terms

  • toil — n labor, *work, travail, drudgery, grind Analogous words: *effort, exertion, pains, trouble: employment, occupation, calling, pursuit, business (see WORK) Antonyms: leisure …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • toil — ► VERB 1) work extremely hard or incessantly. 2) move somewhere slowly and with difficulty. ► NOUN ▪ exhausting work. DERIVATIVES toiler noun. ORIGIN Old French toiler strive, dispute , from Latin tudiculare stir about …   English terms dictionary

  • toil|er — «IH luhr», noun. a person who toils; hard worker; laborer …   Useful english dictionary

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