elbow grease

noun

Definition of elbow grease

: 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

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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 Also in the line are wool dryer balls and a scrubbing brush for those filthy areas that need elbow grease. — Deena Campbell, Essence, "This Is The Only Brand I Use to Clean My Entire House," 7 May 2021 If not, a little extra elbow grease should do the trick. — Norman Becker, Popular Mechanics, "How to Remove Caulk in a Few Easy Steps," 21 Apr. 2021 Or, use some elbow grease and dig weeds up to remove the roots. — Arricca Elin Sansone, House Beautiful, "A 365-Day Timeline of Caring for Your Lawn," 15 Apr. 2021 Apply elbow grease carefully to avoid damaging any of these components. — Megan Oster, chicagotribune.com, "How to clean a juicer," 10 Apr. 2021 After minimal setup costs, there is little additional financial outlay involved in maintaining your herb garden other than elbow grease. — Karen Wytmans, Better Homes & Gardens, "How Herb Gardening Can Save Home Cooks a Ton of Money," 25 Mar. 2021 Sandpaper and elbow grease will be better than a chemical stripper. — Kevin Dupzyk, Popular Mechanics, "How To Get Started in Furniture Restoration," 3 Mar. 2021 Of course, lots of elbow grease will now be in order to get the house and gardens back in order. — Cori Brown, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, "Cori Brown: Spring cleaning is really for the birds | OUTDOORS COMMENTARY," 27 Mar. 2021 Cut out some elbow grease and clutter by designating a prep station with the essentials, suggests Sarah Nina Hayon, the owner and partner at DwellWell Lifestyle management firm. — Lindsay Tigar, CNN Underscored, "18 Amazon products that help create the organized kitchen of your dreams," 19 Feb. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'elbow grease.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.