elbow grease

American  

noun

1. strenuous physical exertion.

   a job requiring elbow grease.

---

elbow grease British  

noun

1. facetious vigorous physical labour, esp hard rubbing

---

elbow grease Cultural  

1. Strenuous physical effort: “If you're going to get this job done, you'll need to apply a little elbow grease.”

---

elbow grease Idioms  

1. Strenuous physical effort, as in You'll have to use some elbow grease to get the house painted in time. This term alludes to vigorous use of one's arm in cleaning, polishing, or the like. It soon was extended to any kind of hard work, and Anthony Trollope used it still more figuratively (Thackeray, 1874): “Forethought is the elbow-grease which a novelist ... requires.” [First half of 1600s]

---

Etymology

Origin of elbow grease

First recorded in 1630–40

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

elbow grease

The whole system cost £15,000 and "a lot of elbow grease and hard work" to install but it is not unique.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

When we made it back home after being gone for two weeks, I had to put elbow grease into scrubbing the caked-on dog drool off the side of the car.

From Salon ● Jun. 1, 2026

The most important thing is to keep your money working for you as hard as it possibly can — and for that, you need to apply some elbow grease to keep it moving.

From MarketWatch ● May 11, 2026

A good fit for: Cooks who want a chemical-free pan that lasts—and don’t mind putting in a little elbow grease.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025

“I will have to throw some money and elbow grease at it first, though.”

From "Fish in a Tree" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---