effort

American  

[ef-ert] / ˈɛf ərt /

noun

• efforts
  plural

1. exertion of physical or mental power.

   It will take great effort to achieve victory.

   Synonyms:

   striving, struggle

2. an earnest or strenuous attempt.

   an effort to keep to the schedule.

3. something done by exertion or hard work.

   I thought it would be easy, but it was an effort.

4. an achievement, as in literature or art.

   The painting is one of his finest efforts.

5. the amount of exertion expended for a specified purpose.

   the war effort.

6. Chiefly British.

   1. an organized community drive or achievement.

   2. a fund-raising drive.

7. Mechanics. the force or energy that is applied to a machine for the accomplishment of useful work.

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effort British  

/ ˈɛfət /

noun

1. physical or mental exertion, usually considerable when unqualified

   the rock was moved with effort

2. a determined attempt

   our effort to save him failed

3. achievement; creation

   a great literary effort

4. physics an applied force acting against inertia

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effort Scientific  

/ ĕf′ərt /

1. Force applied against inertia.

2. The force needed by a machine in order to accomplish work on a load.

3. Compare load

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effort Idioms  

1. see all out (effort); last-ditch effort.

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Synonym Usage

Effort, application, endeavor, exertion imply actions directed or force expended toward a definite end. Effort is an expenditure of energy to accomplish some objective: He made an effort to control himself. Application is continuous effort plus careful attention: constant application to duties. Endeavor means a continued and sustained series of efforts to achieve some, often worthy and difficult, end: a constant endeavor to be useful. Exertion is the vigorous and often strenuous expenditure of energy, frequently without an end: out of breath from exertion.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• countereffort
  noun
• overeffort
  noun
• preeffort
  noun
• effortful
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• efforts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of effort

First recorded in 1480–90; from Middle French, from Old French esfort, esforz, derivative of esforcier “to force” ( es- ex- ¹ + forcier force )

Explanation

Effort has to do with how much work you're putting into something. A great achievement can also be considered a great effort. Effort has to do with how hard you're trying. If something is easy, it doesn't take much effort. If it's hard, it takes a lot of effort. Effort is about trying to get something done, even if it doesn't always work out. In sports, coaches don't like losing, but they really hate it when the players aren't giving much effort. There are also large scale, collective efforts, like the effort to cure cancer.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

effort efforts

She helps organize an effort to “deflock” Lowe’s, one of the company’s largest commercial clients.

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026

Then, in a last-ditch effort to fend off Hong’s insurgency, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who had previously suspended his campaign, reentered the race less than a month before polls opened.

From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026

This summer, it began broadcasting the name Ruby, assuming the identity of a vessel scrapped in 2018 in an apparent effort to keep operating under the radar, Douglas said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

The pitch, of course, was nowhere near the strike zone and, despite the pain and in an effort to see if that was a fluke, he tried to throw another.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

Usually, Clara’s charmed men were befuddled more than anything else, and only with effort.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Both of the state’s major political parties as well as prominent politicians and several labor unions opposed the efforts when they were placed on the 2010 ballot.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

Her efforts led the antivirus software Kaspersky to begin flagging the tools known as stalkerware as a privacy threat to its customers instead of labeling it as benign.

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026

It had looked like Real Madrid would be his next destination but La Liga rivals Barcelona stepped up their efforts to complete the signing in recent days.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

In Hamilton County, just north of Indianapolis, officials said Sunday water was beginning to recede as they began recovery efforts across cities in the area.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

A thick cloud of humidity has settled in my tiny room, despite the best efforts of my clunky air-conditioning unit.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

Related Words

• achievement
• attempt
• battle
• creation
• endeavor
• exercise
• force
• industry
• intention
• power
• production
• push
• resolution
• struggle
• training