toil

[ toil ]

/ tɔɪl /

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noun

hard and continuous work; exhausting labor or effort.

a laborious task.

Archaic. battle; strife; struggle.

verb (used without object)

to engage in hard and continuous work; labor arduously: to toil in the fields.

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

verb (used with object)

to accomplish or produce by toil.

Nearby words

togs, togue, toheroa, tohubohu, tohunga, toil, toile, toile de jouy, toilet, toilet bowl, toilet paper

Origin of toil

1250–1300; Middle English toile (noun), toilen (v.) < Anglo-French toil contention, toiler to contend < Latin tudiculāre to stir up, beat, verbal derivative of tudicula machine for crushing olives, equivalent to tudi- (stem of tundere to beat) + -cula -cule²

SYNONYMS FOR toil

1 exertion, travail, pains. See work.

4 strive, moil.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR toil ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR toil

1 indolence, sloth.

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Related forms

toil·er, nounun·toil·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for toiled

He toiled without money to do that, but for him it had been an incredibly fulfilling and rewarding experience.
Remembering My Dear Friend Malik Bendjelloul, Oscar Winning Director of ‘Searching For Sugar Man’|Simon Chinn|May 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For six years, Hillary Clinton has toiled in the shadow of Barack Obama.
Ready for Hillary Super PAC Throws In for 2014 Midterms|David Freedlander|March 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
John le Carré is notorious for taking the establishment for which he once toiled as a spy at its lowest estimation.
Britain’s KGB Sugar Daddy|Michael Weiss|March 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“There were certainly lessons learned from the 2012 campaign,” says Tim Miller, who toiled as RNC spokesman during the cycle.
The Pre-Emptive War on Hillary Clinton|Michelle Cottle|December 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST

The two met on the Bush campaign, where Ted toiled in the domestic policy shop.
House of Cruz: the Making of Ted Cruz|Michelle Cottle|November 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I am sure, old Solon toiled hard to make a Roman out of me, and how do I know but it was at your instance?
Zenobia|William Ware
For three years we had toiled and prayed and taught for this.
The Story of John G. Paton|James Paton
The Swedes toiled to utter exhaustion in cutting down the flying fugitives.
The Empire of Russia|John S. C. Abbott
True, he had toiled to produce this offering; but what of that?
Notes on the Book of Genesis|Charles Henry Mackintosh
What was it he had so toiled for, from those hard years in the loft above the stable even until now?
The Great Hunger|Johan Bojer

British Dictionary definitions for toiled (1 of 2)

toil

/ (tɔɪl) /

noun

hard or exhausting work

an obsolete word for strife

verb

(intr) to labour

(intr) to progress with slow painful movementsto toil up a hill

(tr) archaic to achieve by toil

Derived Forms

toiler, noun

Word Origin for toil

C13: from Anglo-French toiler to struggle, from Old French toeillier to confuse, from Latin tudiculāre to stir, from tudicula machine for bruising olives, from tudes a hammer, from tundere to beat

British Dictionary definitions for toiled (2 of 2)

toil

/ (tɔɪl) /

noun

(often plural) a net or snarethe toils of fortune had ensnared him

archaic a trap for wild beasts

Word Origin for toil

C16: from Old French toile, from Latin tēla loom

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012