as in effort
the active use of energy in producing a result
with a little polish and a lot of elbow grease, I was able to make the old silver teapot shine again
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Recent Examples of elbow grease
Obviously, Valve and SteamOS are just a small piece of the Linux gaming pie, and most Windows PCs can be turned into Linux systems with a USB stick and some elbow grease.
—
ArsTechnica, 1 May 2026
These tasks take only a few minutes each when done weekly, but skipping them for a month or two is when buildup becomes the kind of problem that requires real elbow grease.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Sacbee.com, 30 Apr. 2026
Putting in the elbow grease can be more powerful than a flashy college degree or pedigree—and the former Goldman Sachs CEO said great careers are actually ripe for the picking if professionals seize the moment and work hard.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 29 Apr. 2026
Among them was Placentia, where a decade of community service was celebrated with some elbow grease and care.
—Heather McRea, Oc Register, 25 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for elbow grease
ArsTechnica, 1 May 2026
These tasks take only a few minutes each when done weekly, but skipping them for a month or two is when buildup becomes the kind of problem that requires real elbow grease.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Sacbee.com, 30 Apr. 2026
Putting in the elbow grease can be more powerful than a flashy college degree or pedigree—and the former Goldman Sachs CEO said great careers are actually ripe for the picking if professionals seize the moment and work hard.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 29 Apr. 2026
Among them was Placentia, where a decade of community service was celebrated with some elbow grease and care.
—Heather McRea, Oc Register, 25 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for elbow grease
Recent Examples of Synonyms for elbow grease
Noun
-
Eco effort The most impressive part of the property is its lush landscaping.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
20 May 2026
-
Fox’s efforts to cater to a digitally savvy cohort to boost the fortunes of its news operations will no doubt be watched by other mainstream TV-news outlets.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
19 May 2026
Noun
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The offense needs a lot of work, and Monken, who has 11 years of NFL offensive coaching experience (though never as a head coach), is tasked with fixing it.—
Saad Yousuf,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
-
The new ranch comes with a coffee-drinking porch (mandatory), but it is weathered, rustic and needs work.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
15 May 2026
Noun
-
Ebola causes a hemorrhagic fever, with symptoms that start with fever, aches, pains and fatigue before progressing to diarrhea, vomiting and bleeding, according to the public health agency.—
Zachary Folk,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
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But in the four years between the two terms, Xi had taken pains to ensure this tactic would no longer work, with export controls on rare earth metals that are indispensable to American arms manufacturers and carmakers.—
Rob Crilly,
The Washington Examiner,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Elbow grease.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elbow%20grease. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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