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.
But about 40 to 45 minutes into the film, the labour pains began.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
It also demonstrated that while Maye amazed the football world last season, he’s still just 24 years old and prone to growing pains.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Hillary wasn’t Bill; her 2008 campaign took pains to emphasize their differences.
From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026
"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
Sammy had tried to grab a couple and been nipped for his pains.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
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.
