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Synonyms

pains

British  
/ peɪnz /

plural noun

  1. care, trouble, or effort (esp in the phrases take pains, be at pains to )

  2. painful sensations experienced during contractions in childbirth; labour pains

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

He was stressed, suffering the chest pains and swollen joints of recurrent rheumatic fever.

From Literature

Bostic isn’t the only Fed official who has taken pains to emphasize the importance of the central bank’s independence this year.

From The Wall Street Journal

I forced myself to wait in the bush a little longer, and while I did, all my pains sank in.

From Literature

The compact nature of the production, performed without intermission in just over 90 minutes, awkwardly exposes the melodrama that Ibsen took great pains to undercut.

From Los Angeles Times

Citrini is at pains to point out at the start of their note that this scenario is not a prediction.

From MarketWatch

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.