endeavor

¹en·deav·or

verb \in-ˈde-vər\

en·deav·oreden·deav·or·ing \-v(ə-)riŋ\

Definition of ENDEAVOR

transitive verb

1

archaic : to strive to achieve or reach

2

: to attempt (as the fulfillment of an obligation) by exertion of effort <endeavors to finish the race>

intransitive verb

: to work with set purpose

Examples of ENDEAVOR

1. The school endeavors to teach students to be good citizens.
2. They endeavored to create a government that truly serves its people.
3. As urbanization advanced, it swept away the distinctive physical and social characteristics of the culture of the past, substituting undifferentiated built environments and standardized patterns of dress and behavior. Hand-camera users endeavored to reaffirm individuality and arrest time in the face of the encroaching depersonalization of existence. —Naomi Rosenblum, A World History of Photography, 1989
4. At some time in their careers, most good historians itch to write a history of the world, endeavor to discover what makes humanity the most destructive and creative of species. —Paul Johnson, New York Times Book Review, 7 Apr. 1985

Origin of ENDEAVOR

Middle English endeveren to exert oneself, from en- + dever duty — more at devoir

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to ENDEAVOR

Synonyms

bang away, beaver (away), dig (away), drudge, labor, fag, grub, hump, hustle, moil, peg (away), plod, plow, plug, slave, slog, strain, strive, struggle, sweat, toil, travail, tug, work

Related Words

apply (oneself), buckle (down), dig in, hammer (away), knuckle down, pitch in; attack, drive; essay, try; exercise, exert, overexert, overwork; eke out, grind (out), put out, scrabble, scratch; trudge, wade

Near Antonyms

break, ease (up), let up, slacken; bum, chill, dally, dillydally, footle, goldbrick, goof (off), hack (around), hang (around or out), idle, laze, loaf, lounge, shirk, slack (off), veg out; bask, loll, relax, repose, rest, unwind; dabble, doodle, fool around, fribble, goof (around), hang, hang about [British], mess around, monkey (around), play, potter (around), putter (around), trifle

See Synonym Discussion at attempt

Rhymes with ENDEAVOR

dissever, forever, however, soever, whatever, whenever, wherever, whichever, whoever, whomever

²en·deav·or

noun \in-ˈde-vər\

Definition of ENDEAVOR

1

: serious determined effort

2

: activity directed toward a goal : enterprise <fields of endeavor>

Examples of ENDEAVOR

1. His endeavors have gone unrewarded.
2. She is involved in several artistic endeavors.
3. Technology is the fastest-changing area of human endeavor.
4. Sgt. Pepper was our grandest endeavor. —Ringo Starr, in The Beatles Anthology, 2000
5. Science has traditionally accepted the smartest students, the most committed and self-sacrificing researchers, and the cleanest money—that is, money with the fewest political strings attached. In both theory and practice, science in this century has been perceived as a noble endeavor. —Science, 13 Feb. 1998
6. The miraculous thing I have to report, a secret so precious I hesitate to share it, is how docilely and utterly the critic in one goes to sleep when a creative endeavor is afoot. —John Updike, New York Times Book Review, 21 June 1987

Origin of ENDEAVOR

(see ¹endeavor)

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to ENDEAVOR

Synonyms

assay [archaic], bash [chiefly British], bid, crack, attempt, essay, fling, go, offer, pass, shot, stab, trial, try, whack, whirl

Related Words

striving, struggle, throes, undertaking; trial and error

Rhymes with ENDEAVOR

forever, however, whatever, whenever, wherever, whichever