pains
Britishplural noun
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care, trouble, or effort (esp in the phrases take pains, be at pains to )
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painful sensations experienced during contractions in childbirth; labour pains
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.
The question is whether these cracks signal a deeper problem — like the seeds of a widespread financial crisis — or if this is simply a period of growing pains in a maturing asset class.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 30, 2026
So you can imagine there will be growing pains.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026
Katja Snoeijs realised something was wrong when she felt "stabbing" pains and was forced off at half-time against West Ham last season.
From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026
Some may perceive this as mere growing pains for a now-decade-old Silicon Valley giant that experienced a massive growth spurt after ChatGPT’s takeoff.
From Slate • Mar. 25, 2026
My shyness fell away from me, loosening as it did so my reluctant tongue, and out they all came, the little secrets of childhood, the pleasures and the pains.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
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.
