toil
1 Americannoun
verb (used without object)
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toils,
present (3rd person singular)
-
toiled,
past participle, past
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toiling
present participle
verb (used with object)
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toils,
present (3rd person singular)
-
toiled,
past participle, past
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toiling
present participle
noun
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hard or exhausting work
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an obsolete word for strife
verb
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(intr) to labour
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(intr) to progress with slow painful movements
to toil up a hill
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archaic (tr) to achieve by toil
noun
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(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
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toilsimple
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toilssimple
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have toiledperfect
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has toiledperfect
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am toilingprogressive
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are toilingprogressive
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is toilingprogressive
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have been toilingperfect progressive
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has been toilingperfect progressive
Past
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toiledsimple
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had toiledperfect
-
was toilingprogressive
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were toilingprogressive
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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
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Labor Day Lexicon: Words That Put You To Work
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Animal Farm
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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:
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
Immigrant farmworkers toil, season after season, in jobs that most Americans wouldn’t endure for a week.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026
Stripped to the waist, men toil in the heat of the sun.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
So it shouldn’t be surprising that women have played a central role in inventing products that reduced the physical toil of daily housework.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
‘Then if we are going to toil through bog and briar, let’s go now!’ said Pippin.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
John toils as a sheep farmer and weaver, and practices a fire-and-brimstone form of Presbyterianism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
Boyarsky toils in a back room drenched in natural light, her cat Roxy at her side.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2023
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
I love that the majority of Division I toils away outside the spotlight, but N.C.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 21, 2023
Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
Northern Ireland's McIlroy played alongside his European Ryder Cup team-mate as the pair toiled late on a baking day, although he did finish positively with a birdie on the 18th.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
A native of Sonora, Mexico, Yepez and her husband toiled at various food trucks and restaurants until 2018, when they launched a series of stands named after their daughter: Ricos Tacos Naomi.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 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
After Sharma was dismissed by Liam McCarthy, India's middle-order toiled as Hollard took the wickets of Ishan Kishan, captain Shreyas Iyer and Washington Sundar.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 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
Instead, the brash phenom who once compared himself to Mike Trout spent half a decade toiling in the minors, a difficult stretch filled with disappointment, frustration and a boatload of strikeouts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
Thousands have spent the past three days similarly toiling away, without government support.
From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026
Working, after all, is how a majority of people must spend most of their waking hours, and toiling away in an industry or at a position you find grating will undoubtedly make you miserable.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
In his 50 years of toiling the land, dealing with the odd mouse is normal, but "I've never seen it this bad, ever".
From BBC ● May 30, 2026
‘I wonder how long it will be before we really are caught and all the toiling and the slinking will be over, and in vain.’
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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.
