elbow grease

noun

: hard work

There is just no substitution for the elbow grease involved in promotion. You just have to get out there and work hard to get the word to the stores that the book is available.

—Andy Shafran

especially : vigorously applied physical labor or effort

Best of all, the metal handle is bendable, making it easy to defat liquids of varying depths. Kudos to a kitchen tool that spares elbow grease.

—Grace Young

Synonyms

• effort
• exertion
• expenditure
• labor
• pains
• sweat
• trouble
• while
• work

Examples of elbow grease in a Sentence

It's going to take some elbow grease to get this counter clean.

with a little polish and a lot of elbow grease, I was able to make the old silver teapot shine again

Recent Examples on the Web

If the league won’t do it, somebody in burgundy and blue needs to apply a little elbow grease. —Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 10 May 2024

Stain removal was a snap with this cleaner, including challenging ones like tomato paste—and even that only required a little extra elbow grease. —Quincy Bulin, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1672, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

elbow grease

noun

: forceful effort in doing physical labor