endeavor

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

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Rhymes with ENDEAVOR

forever, however, whatever, whenever, wherever, whichever