moil
Americanverb (used with object)
noun
-
hard work or drudgery.
-
confusion, turmoil, or trouble.
-
Glassmaking. a superfluous piece of glass formed during blowing and removed in the finishing operation.
-
Mining. a short hand tool with a polygonal point, used for breaking or prying out rock.
verb
-
to moisten or soil or become moist, soiled, etc
-
(intr) to toil or drudge (esp in the phrase toil and moil )
noun
-
toil; drudgery
-
confusion; turmoil
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of moil
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English mollen, mulllen, “to make or get wet and muddy,” from Middle French moillier, from unrecorded Vulgar Latin molliāre, derivative of Latin mollis “soft”
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.
Last week, he dashed into a moil of rioting Juliette Barnes fans to save Maddie when a shelf fell on her head.
From Slate ● Apr. 2, 2013
They say good-bye in another convenient tur moil of Zeppelins and searchlights.
From Time Magazine Archive
The New York Herald Tribune hissed: "L'Universite, c'est moil" On the bulletin board of Columbia's Law School appeared a scrawl: "Heil Butler!"
From Time Magazine Archive
While light and darkness moil and wrangle, the wife makes her inner decision.
From Time Magazine Archive
To wean the heart frae warldly grief, Frae warldly moil an' care, Could maiden smile a lovelier smile, Or drap a tend'rer tear?
From The Modern Scottish Minstrel, Volume V. The Songs of Scotland of the Past Half Century by Charles Rogers
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.
