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:
Many young people don’t want to toil in factories, which don’t provide the kind of prestige or work environments college graduates seek—and are rapidly replacing workers with robots.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
After years of investment, hype, and toil, their A.I. code was quite good—maybe too good.
From Slate ● Sep. 15, 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
This is an incredible start to their adult life; most working people take years of toil to get to that level.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
Another dreadful day of fear and toil had come to Mordor; and the night-guards were summoned to their dungeons and deep halls, and the day-guards, evil-eyed and fell, were marching to their posts.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
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
CHERAW, S.C.—Inside a Schaeffler SHA0 -3.78%decrease; red down pointing triangle auto-parts factory, a most unusual worker toils away.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 15, 2026
While Noah toils away in the desert, artist Maya seeks to recolor her own faded view of the world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2025
A large proportion of the work force toils on farms, for instance, and a relatively small part of it is employed in factories.
From New York Times ● Apr. 1, 2024
Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
Tanzid then put on 93 with captain Najmul Hossain Shanto as Australia toiled in stiflingly hot conditions at the Marrara Oval.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Most players who have toiled in the minor league system debut in front of applauding friends and family.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 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
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
Thousands of slaves still toiled on vast estates in the hills, growing wheat and olives, herding sheep and goats, and mining salt and copper.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
For those toiling at fishmeal plants and fish farms, the work and conditions can be brutal, the investigation found.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
He turned pro in 2012 and spent years toiling away on the PGA Tour of Australasia, and only notched his first European Tour win in 2019.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 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
Thousands have spent the past three days similarly toiling away, without government support.
From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026
For weeks we’d been toiling in what amounted to a canyon; now, for the first time on the expedition the vista was primarily sky rather than earth.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
