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.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said while the holiday and airline industry "is at pains to stress there are no current fuel shortages....consumers are getting jittery".
From BBC • May 13, 2026
Justice Samuel Alito’s majority opinion took pains to clarify that the court was not reversing Allen v.
From Slate • May 12, 2026
“The personal is political, as the feminist rallying cry has it, and Wohl has taken pains never to lose sight of this insight when imagining the complexities of the lives of others,” McNulty wrote.
From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2026
Which isn’t to say the Grand Prix came without growing pains.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
“The past is over. A sunk cost, if you will. All the pains and losses, the mistakes and misdeeds—none of these can be undone.”
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
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.
