strive

American  

[strahyv] / straɪv /

verb (used without object)

strove, strived, striven, strived, striving

1. to exert oneself vigorously; try hard.

   He strove to make himself understood.

2. to make strenuous efforts toward any goal.

   to strive for success.

   Synonyms:

   toil

3. to contend in opposition, battle, or any conflict; compete.

   Synonyms:

   fight, struggle

4. to struggle vigorously, as in opposition or resistance.

   to strive against fate.

5. to rival; vie.

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strive British  

/ straɪv /

verb

1. (may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to make a great and tenacious effort

   to strive to get promotion

2. (intr) to fight; contend

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Related Words

See try.

Other Word Forms

• interstrive verb (used without object)
• outstrive verb (used with object)
• overstrive verb (used without object)
• restrive verb (used without object)
• striver noun

Etymology

Origin of strive

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English striven from Old French estriver “to quarrel, compete, strive” from Germanic; compare obsolete Dutch strijven, German streben “to strive”

Example Sentences

He is also striving to finally win a record 25th Grand Slam and surpass Margaret Court, who is also expected to be watching in Rod Laver Arena on Sunday.

From Barron's

“We should strive to build a science infrastructure or a scientific foundation for this country that is responsive to the needs of the the U.S. population.”

From Salon

The creators of ChatGPT and other chatbots strive to source their answers from reputable sources, and attempt to weight sources by their veracity.

From The Wall Street Journal

This is especially true when businesses striving for efficiency are looking for evidence of employees’ impact.

From The Wall Street Journal

Ben once said something about how resourceful she is, and that we should all strive to do our work like her.

From Literature

Related Words

• aim
• endeavor
• go all out
• seek
• tackle