toil

¹ American  

[toil] / tɔɪl /

noun

1. hard and continuous work; exhausting labor or effort.

   Synonyms:

   pains, travail, exertion

   Antonyms:

   sloth, indolence

2. a laborious task.

3. Archaic. battle; strife; struggle.

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verb (used without object)

toils, present (3rd person singular) toiled, past participle, past toiling present participle

1. to engage in hard and continuous work; labor arduously.

   to toil in the fields.

   Synonyms:

   moil, strive

2. to move or travel with difficulty, weariness, or pain.

verb (used with object)

toils, present (3rd person singular) toiled, past participle, past toiling present participle

1. to accomplish or produce by toil.

toil ² American  

[toil] / tɔɪl /

noun

1. Usually toils

   1. a net or series of nets in which game known to be in the area is trapped or into which game outside of the area is driven.

   2. trap; snare.

      to be caught in the toils of a gigantic criminal conspiracy.

2. Archaic. any snare or trap for wild beasts.

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toil ¹ British  

/ tɔɪl /

noun

1. hard or exhausting work

2. an obsolete word for strife

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verb

1. (intr) to labour

2. (intr) to progress with slow painful movements

   to toil up a hill

3. archaic (tr) to achieve by toil

toil ² British  

/ tɔɪl /

noun

1. (often plural) a net or snare

   the toils of fortune had ensnared him

2. archaic a trap for wild beasts

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Usage

What are other ways to say toil?

The noun toil refers to hard and continuous work. How is toil different from drudgery, labor, and work? Find out on Thesaurus.com. 

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• toiler
  noun
• untoiling
  adjective

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has toiled
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have toiled
  perfect
• are toiling
  progressive
• am toiling
  progressive 1st person singular
• have been toiling
  perfect progressive
• has been toiling
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• is toiling
  progressive 3rd person singular
• toiling
  participle
• toils
  singular 3rd person

Past

• had toiled
  perfect
• were toiling
  progressive plural
• was toiling
  progressive singular
• had been toiling
  perfect progressive
• toiled
  participle
• toiled
  simple

Future

• will toil
  simple
• will have toiled
  perfect
• will be toiling
  progressive
• will have been toiling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of toil¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English noun toil(e) “violent conflict, battle,” from Anglo-French toil(e), toyl “contention,” from Old French toeil, tooil “confusion, contention, battle,” ultimately from Latin tudiculāre “to stir up, beat,” verbal derivative of tudicula “machine for crushing olives,” equivalent to tudi- (stem of tundere “to strike, beat”) + -cula -cule ²

Origin of toil²

Fifst recorded in 1520–30; from French toile, from Latin tēla “web”

Explanation

Toil is another word for work. You toil as a customer service rep all day, but you'd prefer to work as a rock goddess. Unfortunately, there weren't many ads in the employment section for goddesses — rock or otherwise. Although toil means "work" (in both its noun and verb forms), it usually has the added meaning of hard work, especially physical labor. If you'd lived during the Great Depression, you might have toiled on roadwork and conservation projects. Your toils would have created roads in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, for example. Thanks for all your hard work! Now, relax and enjoy the scenery.

Example Sentences

When the new Rangers striker made it 2-1, then 3-1, a day of toil against the 10 men of Curacao - world ranking of 82 - turned into something altogether more palatable.

From BBC • May 30, 2026

Most toil on the building sites of the Gulf and Saudi Arabia or in hotels and factories there, while others work in India and Malaysia.

From Barron's • Feb. 16, 2026

“He had little choice but to toil ahead.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2026

Like lottery winners, wealthy individuals fear their offspring might blow money they haven’t had to toil for.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 27, 2025

Better yet, I might manage to make off with the theatre's copy, saving myself a good deal of toil and trouble.

From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood

Related Words

• strive
• sweat