toil
1 Americannoun
verb (used without object)
-
toils,
present (3rd person singular)
-
toiled,
past participle, past
-
toiling
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
toils,
present (3rd person singular)
-
toiled,
past participle, past
-
toiling
present participle
noun
-
hard or exhausting work
-
an obsolete word for strife
verb
-
(intr) to labour
-
(intr) to progress with slow painful movements
to toil up a hill
-
archaic (tr) to achieve by toil
noun
-
(often plural) a net or snare
the toils of fortune had ensnared him
-
archaic a trap for wild beasts
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
toilsimple
-
toilssimple
-
have toiledperfect
-
has toiledperfect
-
am toilingprogressive
-
are toilingprogressive
-
is toilingprogressive
-
have been toilingperfect progressive
-
has been toilingperfect progressive
Past
-
toiledsimple
-
had toiledperfect
-
was toilingprogressive
-
were toilingprogressive
-
had been toilingperfect progressive
Future
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”
Explanation
Toil is another word for work. You toil as a customer service rep all day, but you'd prefer to work as a rock goddess. Unfortunately, there weren't many ads in the employment section for goddesses — rock or otherwise. Although toil means "work" (in both its noun and verb forms), it usually has the added meaning of hard work, especially physical labor. If you'd lived during the Great Depression, you might have toiled on roadwork and conservation projects. Your toils would have created roads in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, for example. Thanks for all your hard work! Now, relax and enjoy the scenery.
Vocabulary lists containing toil
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Labor Day Lexicon: Words That Put You To Work
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Animal Farm
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
Her installation of aprons, made of silk printed with her photography and archival images, speaks to women’s toil at home and in the workforce—both realms where their efforts historically have been overlooked and underappreciated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
After years of investment, hype, and toil, their A.I. code was quite good—maybe too good.
From Slate ● Sep. 15, 2026
New Zealand's combination of hard toil and sparkling hands then bought them a way back into the game just before half-time.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
He famously worked alone, content to toil away on his own singular vision, but the innovations he made in visual effects spread well beyond his studio.
From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026
Darwin’s calculations showed that the toil of earthworms might add a laver of soil an inch to an inch and a half thick in a ten year period.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
The 35-year-old volunteer firefighter has spent more than a month enveloped in this haze, breathing toxic millennia-old microparticles of carbon as he toils against a seemingly inextinguishable fire front.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
Keuer wonders if the work is worth it, noting how hard he toils for little pay.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2025
Co-produced with Edgar Barrera and Sky Rompiendo, the song toils with the wistfulness of what never came to be, and the hope of what could become.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 31, 2024
Even “Minari,” which chronicled the toils of a Korean immigrant family, offered a rare look at Asian American life in rural Arkansas.
From New York Times ● Jul. 6, 2023
Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
However, despite claiming the first set, Djokovic toiled badly after winning an 18-minute third game in the second set and appeared to vomit twice.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
County team — toiled for days to reach Gil, who worked as a security guard in an underground parking structure.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026
Veteran Jessica Pegula, 32, the top-ranked American who also toiled away on the sport’s lower tier before becoming a top-10 mainstay, appreciates Liu’s resolve.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
Casemiro, 34, showed his age as he toiled in the heat before he was replaced at half-time as Morocco dominated without adding to the lead given to them by Ismael Saibari.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
They toiled with the steady devotion of worker bees.
From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer
Come January, El-Sayed could be in the Senate, toiling away on behalf of Michiganders as the nation’s first Muslim senator — and Capitol Hill’s resident zaddy.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
Many of them had saved money while toiling as farmworkers, cooks, custodians and construction workers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
Since last year, Japanese businesses have faced tougher legal requirements to help employees toiling in the heat.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
With two more days of good weather expected, India have the chance to keep a tired England toiling and bat them out of the game on day three.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
I am toiling in my garden after a rain, moving tender seedlings.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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.
