endeavor
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
-
to attempt; try.
He endeavors to keep things neat in his apartment.
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Archaic. to attempt to achieve or gain.
noun
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of endeavor
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English endeveren, from the phrase putten in devoir “to make an effort, assume responsibility”; compare Anglo-French se mettre en deveir. See en- 1, devoir
Explanation
When you endeavor to do something, you try hard to make it happen. A determined student might endeavor to get straight As on her report card. "The ordinary objects of human endeavor — property, outward success, luxury — have always seemed to me contemptible," wrote Albert Einstein. Presumably, NASA had loftier objects in mind when they named one of their space shuttles Endeavour, using the British spelling. The word comes from the Old French phrase mettre en deveir, or "put in duty." As a verb, it's a more impressive word than try and suggests you're doing your darnedest to make something happen.
Vocabulary lists containing endeavor
The Declaration of Independence
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List 8
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
No field of endeavor is immune from this attitude, the art world least of all.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
Nvidia barely mentioned Arm Holdings in its press release announcing a new personal-computer processor, but investors think chip designer Arm could be the biggest winner of the endeavor.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 1, 2026
Cassidy Savage helped her 16-year-old son, Parker, look for a summer job and said it required treating the endeavor like a grown-up search.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 24, 2026
“Ford…has in his social endeavor committed economic blunders, if not crimes,” The Wall Street Journal opined on Jan. 7, 1914.
From Barron's • May 20, 2026
People tried to defy orders and merge themselves into the functional lines, but without any of the finesse that I would have brought to the endeavor.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
