toil
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1toil

noun \ˈti(-ə)l\

Definition of TOIL

1
archaic
a : struggle, battle
b : laborious effort
2
: long strenuous fatiguing labor
toil·ful \-fəl\ adjective
toil·ful·ly \-fə-lē\ adverb

Origin of TOIL

Middle English toile, from Anglo-French toyl, from toiller
First Known Use: 14th century

2toil

verb

Definition of TOIL

intransitive verb
1
: to work hard and long
2
: to proceed with laborious effort : plod
transitive verb
1
archaic : overwork
2
archaic : to get or accomplish with great effort
toil·er \ˈti-lər\ noun

Examples of TOIL

  1. workers toiling in the fields
  2. They were toiling up a steep hill.

Origin of TOIL

Middle English, to argue, struggle, from Anglo-French toiller to make dirty, fight, wrangle, from Latin tudiculare to crush, grind, from tudicula machine for crushing olives, diminutive of tudes hammer; akin to Latin tundere to beat — more at contusion
First Known Use: 14th century

Rhymes with TOIL

3toil

noun

Definition of TOIL

1
: a net to trap game
2
: something by which one is held fast or inextricably involved : snare, trap —usually used in plural <caught in the toils of the law>

Origin of TOIL

Middle French toile cloth, net, from Old French teile, Latin tela cloth on a loom — more at subtle
First Known Use: circa 1529

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