travail

1 of 2

noun

tra·​vail trə-ˈvāl  ˈtra-ˌvāl 

1

a

: work especially of a painful or laborious nature : toil

b

: a physical or mental exertion or piece of work : task, effort

c

: agony, torment

2

: labor, childbirth

travail

2 of 2

verb

tra·​vail trə-ˈvāl  ˈtra-ˌvāl 

 in prayer-​book communion service usually  ˈtra-ˌvāl

travailed; travailing; travails

intransitive verb

1

: to labor hard : toil

2

: labor sense 4

Did you know?

Travail traces back to trepalium, a Late Latin word for an instrument of torture. We don't know exactly what a trepalium looked like, but the word's history gives us an idea. Trepalium comes from the Latin adjective tripalis, which means "having three stakes" (from tri-, meaning "three," and palus, meaning "stake"). Trepalium eventually led to the Anglo-French verb travailler, meaning "to torment" but also, more mildly, "to trouble" and "to journey." The Anglo-French noun travail was borrowed into English in the 13th century, along with another descendant of travailler, travel.

Synonyms

Noun

• affliction
• agony
• anguish
• distress
• excruciation
• hurt
• misery
• pain
• rack
• strait(s)
• torment
• torture
• tribulation
• woe

Verb

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

Choose the Right Synonym for travail

work, labor, travail, toil, drudgery, grind mean activity involving effort or exertion.

work may imply activity of body, of mind, of a machine, or of a natural force.

too tired to do any work

labor applies to physical or intellectual work involving great and often strenuous exertion.

farmers demanding fair compensation for their labor

travail is bookish for labor involving pain or suffering.

years of travail were lost when the house burned

toil implies prolonged and fatiguing labor.

his lot would be years of back-breaking toil

drudgery suggests dull and irksome labor.

an editorial job with a good deal of drudgery

grind implies labor exhausting to mind or body.

the grind of the assembly line

Examples of travail in a Sentence

Noun

They finally succeeded after many months of travail.

no greater travail than that of parents who have suffered the death of a child

Verb

Labor Day is the day on which we recognize those men and women who daily travail with little appreciation or compensation.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

His earthly travails were soul-sapping and then some. —George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 June 2025

The technology industry’s recent travails, again, are a likely factor behind this divergence. —Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 11 June 2025

Verb

For Zegler, making her British stage debut, Evita must seem like a haven of sorts after her travails with the controversy that grew around Snow White, where her casting was subject to racist attacks on social media about her Colombian heritage. —Sarah Crompton, Vogue, 16 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from travailler to torment, labor, journey, from Vulgar Latin *trepaliare to torture, from Late Latin trepalium instrument of torture, from Latin tripalis having three stakes, from tri- + palus stake — more at pole

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for travail

• airmail
• assail
• avail
• bewail
• blackmail
• cattail
• cocktail
• curtail
• derail
• detail
• dovetail
• email

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Kids Definition

travail

noun

tra·​vail

trə-ˈvā(ə)l,

ˈtrav-ˌāl

1

: work especially of a painful or difficult nature : toil

2

: agony sense 1, torment

travail verb

Etymology

Noun

Middle English travail "hard labor," from early French travail (same meaning), from travailler (verb) "to torment, labor" — related to travel see Word History at travel

Medical Definition

travail

noun

tra·​vail trə-ˈvā(ə)l  ˈtrav-ˌāl 

: labor, childbirth