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.
"I realised everything it had cost me -- all those hospitalisations, those surgeries, the schooling I missed and, above all, those pains I had never associated with that damn IUD," said Kirstine Najarak Berthelsen.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
It is too early to tell if these are short-term learning pains or structural issues.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
"After years of enduring severe pains from a broken back" and dealing with the healthcare insurance industry, Mangione stated that he had learned UnitedHealthcare would hold an annual conference in Manhattan in December 2024.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Freeman did not undergo any imaging on his various aches and pains, although he said head athletic trainer Thomas Albert asked if he felt like he needed any.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
At this point Joe greatly augmented my curiosity by taking the utmost pains to open his mouth very wide, and to put it into the form of a word that looked to me like “sulks.”
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
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.
