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
Other things to know before cleaning grout Cleaning tile grout is a laborious process that involves elbow grease, squatting and reaching.
—
Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
Don’t be shy to add a little elbow grease.
—Asia London Palomba, The Spruce, 27 Feb. 2026
While not particularly new, self-cleaning ovens are a tech-y upgrade that, according to some, have a long way to go in terms of replacing good old elbow grease.
—Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner, Martha Stewart, 7 Feb. 2026
Sometimes, good old-fashioned elbow grease can work even better.
—Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 31 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for elbow grease
Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
Don’t be shy to add a little elbow grease.
—Asia London Palomba, The Spruce, 27 Feb. 2026
While not particularly new, self-cleaning ovens are a tech-y upgrade that, according to some, have a long way to go in terms of replacing good old elbow grease.
—Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner, Martha Stewart, 7 Feb. 2026
Sometimes, good old-fashioned elbow grease can work even better.
—Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 31 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for elbow grease
Recent Examples of Synonyms for elbow grease
Noun
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Skills save you the time and effort of entering the same instructions into the AI chatbot on different pages.—
Jibin Joseph,
PC Magazine,
15 Apr. 2026
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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed veteran politician Roelf Meyer as the country's ambassador to the United States in a move widely seen as an effort to ease diplomatic tensions between the two nations.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Barnes and Imam had been trading ideas with a scholar named Andrew Willard Jones, whose work focussed on the model of Christendom found in, say, High Middle Ages France, where society was organized around its relationship with the Church.—
Emma Green,
New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2026
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Sara Doody Mid-Century Lift-Top Coffee Table Apartment dwellers will love this space-saving coffee table with a convenient lift-top that doubles as a kitchen table and work desk.—
Ali Faccenda,
PEOPLE,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Gibson cited increasingly severe stomach pains and diarrhea across several days as her family's symptoms.—
Chiara Kim,
PEOPLE,
15 Apr. 2026
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Branch Rickey and Leo Durocher, the Dodgers’ general manager and manager, took great pains to protect Robinson, but protecting him from all of the vitriol was an impossibility.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
15 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Elbow grease.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elbow%20grease. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
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