toil

Noun · Verb
Synonyms: laborlabourfagtravailgrinddrudgedigmoil

WordNet 3.0

Noun (1)

  1. productive work (especially physical work done for wages)“his labor did not require a great deal of skill”Synonyms: laborlabour

Verb (1)

  1. work hard“She was digging away at her math homework”“Lexicographers drudge all day long”Synonyms: laborlabourfagtravailgrinddrudgedigmoil
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Toil \Toil\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Toiled; p. pr. & vb. n. Toiling.] [OE. toilen to pull about, to toil; of uncertain origin; cf. OD. teulen, tuylen, to labor, till, or OF. tooillier, toailler, to wash, rub (cf. Towel); or perhaps ultimately from the same root as E. tug.] To exert strength with pain and fatigue of body or mind, especially of the body, with efforts of some continuance or duration; to labor; to work. [1913 Webster]
Toil \Toil\, v. t.

1.To weary; to overlabor. [Obs.] "Toiled with works of war." --Shak. [1913 Webster]

2.To labor; to work; -- often with out. [R.] [1913 Webster]

Places well toiled and husbanded.— Holland.[1913 Webster]
[I] toiled out my uncouth passage.— Milton.[1913 Webster] [1913 Webster]
Toil \Toil\, n. [OE. toil turmoil, struggle; cf. OD. tuyl labor, work. See Toil, v.] Labor with pain and fatigue; labor that oppresses the body or mind, esp. the body. [1913 Webster]

My task of servile toil. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

After such bloody toil, we bid good night. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

Note: Toil is used in the formation of compounds which are generally of obvious signification; as, toil-strung, toil-wasted, toil-worn, and the like. [1913 Webster]

Syn: Labor; drudgery; work; exertion; occupation; employment; task; travail.

Usage: Toil, Labor, Drudgery. Labor implies strenuous exertion, but not necessary such as overtasks the faculties; toil denotes a severity of labor which is painful and exhausting; drudgery implies mean and degrading work, or, at least, work which wearies or disgusts from its minuteness or dull uniformity. [1913 Webster]

You do not know the heavy grievances, The toils, the labors, weary drudgeries, Which they impose.— Southern.[1913 Webster]
How often have I blessed the coming day, When toil remitting lent its turn to play.— Goldsmith.[1913 Webster]
Toil \Toil\, n. [F. toiles, pl., toils, nets, fr. toile cloth, canvas, spider web, fr. L. tela any woven stuff, a web, fr. texere to weave. See Text, and cf. Toilet.] A net or snare; any thread, web, or string spread for taking prey; -- usually in the plural. [1913 Webster]

As a Numidian lion, when first caught, Endures the toil that holds him. --Denham. [1913 Webster]

Then toils for beasts, and lime for birds, were found. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]

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