endeavor
[en-dev-er]
- to exert oneself to do or effect something; make an effort; strive: We must constantly endeavor if we are to succeed.
- to attempt; try: He endeavors to keep things neat in his apartment.
- Archaic. to attempt to achieve or gain.
- a strenuous effort; attempt.
Also especially British, en·deav·our.
Origin of endeavor
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for endeavor
Contemporary Examples
He stops after a second, looks around him and laughs, apparently realizing the absurdity of the endeavor.
The Walking Dead’s Midseason Finale Shocker: A Cherished Character Meets a Grisly EndMelissa Leon
December 1, 2014
Looking back, our readers gave us all the faith we needed to pursue this endeavor.
Motherless Daughters and Parentless Parents Trek to the Andes to Aid OrphansAllison Gilbert
August 21, 2014
Critical to this endeavor is the drumroll of hell-fire sermons from the tub-thumpers of talk radio and Fox News.
That Record Store Day endeavor came less than a year after White set about his solo career.
If he is successful in that endeavor, John Kasich could be the most formidable 2016 GOP candidate you do not know—yet.
Historical Examples
Let us, then, look to the great cause, and endeavor to preserve it in full force.
This is too well-known a truth for me to endeavor to conceal it, especially from you.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)Samuel Richardson
And even then they did not know the full extent of her endeavor.
ThoroughbredsW. A. Fraser
“I don't know how Fritz would make out in that field of endeavor,” he said.
The Dare Boys of 1776Stephen Angus Cox
In the meantime our present work must be to endeavor to locate their cache.
The Law-BreakersRidgwell Cullum
Word Origin and History for endeavor
n.
early 15c., "pains taken to attain an object," literally "in duty," from phrase put (oneself) in dever "make it one's duty" (a partial translation of Old French mettre en deveir "put in duty"), from Old French dever "duty," from Latin debere "to owe" (see debt). One's endeavors meaning one's "utmost effort" is from late 15c.
v.
c.1400; see endeavor (n.). Related: Endeavored; endeavoring.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper