toil

¹ American  

[toil] / tɔɪl /

noun

1. hard and continuous work; exhausting labor or effort.

   Synonyms:

   pains, travail, exertion

   Antonyms:

   sloth, indolence

2. a laborious task.

3. Archaic. battle; strife; struggle.

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verb (used without object)

1. to engage in hard and continuous work; labor arduously.

   to toil in the fields.

   Synonyms:

   moil, strive

2. to move or travel with difficulty, weariness, or pain.

verb (used with object)

1. to accomplish or produce by toil.

toil ² American  

[toil] / tɔɪl /

noun

1. Usually toils

   1. a net or series of nets in which game known to be in the area is trapped or into which game outside of the area is driven.

   2. trap; snare.

      to be caught in the toils of a gigantic criminal conspiracy.

2. Archaic. any snare or trap for wild beasts.

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toil ¹ British  

/ tɔɪl /

noun

1. hard or exhausting work

2. an obsolete word for strife

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verb

1. (intr) to labour

2. (intr) to progress with slow painful movements

   to toil up a hill

3. archaic (tr) to achieve by toil

toil ² British  

/ tɔɪl /

noun

1. (often plural) a net or snare

   the toils of fortune had ensnared him

2. archaic a trap for wild beasts

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Usage

What are other ways to say toil?

The noun toil refers to hard and continuous work. How is toil different from drudgery, labor, and work? Find out on Thesaurus.com. 

Other Word Forms

• toiler noun
• untoiling adjective

Etymology

Origin of toil¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English noun toil(e) “violent conflict, battle,” from Anglo-French toil(e), toyl “contention,” from Old French toeil, tooil “confusion, contention, battle,” ultimately from Latin tudiculāre “to stir up, beat,” verbal derivative of tudicula “machine for crushing olives,” equivalent to tudi- (stem of tundere “to strike, beat”) + -cula -cule ²

Origin of toil²

Fifst recorded in 1520–30; from French toile, from Latin tēla “web”

Example Sentences

Most toil on the building sites of the Gulf and Saudi Arabia or in hotels and factories there, while others work in India and Malaysia.

From Barron's • Feb. 16, 2026

Like lottery winners, wealthy individuals fear their offspring might blow money they haven’t had to toil for.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 27, 2025

But many of them toil in punishing and dangerous conditions, and the state is failing to ensure their health and safety, an investigation by Capital & Main has found.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 20, 2025

The results of McCartney’s unceasing post-Beatles toil are evinced by the stats.

From Salon • Nov. 3, 2025

The toil was dull and mechanical, but at least he was moving, and at least every step took him closer to Lyra.

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman

Related Words

• strive
• sweat