as in struggling
to devote serious and sustained effort
the design team has been banging away at that project for months
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Recent Examples of banging away
Brian Cashman gets it all the time, but good, from Yankee fans; for them, banging away at Cashman on social media feels like the real national pastime.
—
Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 16 Aug. 2025
Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 16 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for banging away
Verb
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That leaves firms which relied on cheap, abundant credit during the low-rate era of 2010s and early 2020s more exposed, with weaker companies struggling to roll over debt or exit investments.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
20 Apr. 2026
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Despite Magic guard Desmond Bane, clearly under the weather, struggling from beyond the arc but still managing to contribute 17 points.—
Mike Bianchi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Put differently, eliminating tax on overtime reduces the number of hours each day that hourly workers are laboring not for themselves or their families but for the government.—
Stephen Moore,
Boston Herald,
10 Apr. 2026
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The difference early was that Keller was throwing strikes at an astonishing rate and quickly working through his innings, while King was laboring.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Everything is going to plan when, just hours after launch, a series of unexplained events engulf Sutherland in mystery and risks destroying everything Mirren’s been striving for.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
16 Apr. 2026
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Linda is a ball of nervous energy, a blue-collar divorcée, and a woman striving to turn her dysfunctional children into a model family for their New Jersey town.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
King has been working ever since then to bring a Michael Jackson film to theatres, and now only technicalities remained.—
Kelefa Sanneh,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
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During her college years, Sophie spent her summers working and gaining experience in television and journalism.—
Katie Mannion,
PEOPLE,
19 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Banging away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/banging%20away. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
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