endeavour

British  

/ ɪnˈdɛvə /

verb

1. to try (to do something)

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noun

1. an effort to do or attain something

Other Word Forms

• endeavourer
  noun

Etymology

Origin of endeavour

C14: endeveren , from _en- ¹ + -deveren from dever duty, from Old French deveir; see _devoirs

Explanation

To endeavour is to strive for something. The endeavour itself is the thing you're striving for, the enterprise or undertaking. It's a primarily British spelling of the word. The Middle English root of endeavour means to "put oneself in" or "do one's utmost," so if you endeavour to do something, you do it with earnestness and a fair amount of effort. Americans usually spell the word endeavor, but NASA named one of its space shuttles the Endeavour. Why the extra "u"? NASA was honoring the HMS Endeavour, the first ship ever used by the British explorer Captain James Cook.

Example Sentences

The Samuel Oschin Shuttle Gallery, which houses the Endeavour shuttle stack, is nearest to completion.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

Precious metal miner Hochschild Mining loses 5.15%, while peers Fresnillo and Endeavour Mining are down just under 4%.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026

One of three surviving space shuttles, Endeavour made 25 successful missions into space.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026

Hochschild Mining rises 1.8% while Fresnillo and Endeavour Mining are both up around 1%.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

Maybe even Mae Jemison had seen this very tree as she’d orbited Earth 126 times in the space shuttle Endeavour.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas