as in to labor
to devote serious and sustained effort
the writer pegged away at his first novel for three years before he felt that it was ready to be published
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for peg (away)
Verb
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When the novel opens in Florence, in 1557, the body of the painter Jacopo da Pontormo lies in the chapel of San Lorenzo—in front of the frescoes he’d labored over for a decade, with a painter’s chisel stuck in his heart.—
Boris Kachka,
The Atlantic,
13 Feb. 2026 -
Aster didn’t micromanage as Tracy labored over the script and suffered a bout of COVID during lockdown.—
Anne Thompson,
IndieWire,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Engineers have struggled to close the reaction gap between human perception and machine processing without sacrificing accuracy.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Feb. 2026
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De Meo was recruited from the auto industry, and his experience included turning around the struggling automaker Renault at the start of the decade.—
Elsa Ohlen,
CNBC,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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This year’s cohort of activists, while quieter than in the past as a result of the ongoing hostilities, is striving to amplify the voices suppressed and introduce emerging artists to a wider audience.—
Tina Ahmadi Krol,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Feb. 2026
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The Bureau strives to complete all 311 requests within five days.—
Tara Molina,
CBS News,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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And my initial job and focus was working for the chief digital officer at the time who was a really smart guy.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
14 Feb. 2026
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But its last shutdown plan, released in late September, indicates that 91% of its employees would continue to work without pay.—
Riley Beggin,
Arkansas Online,
14 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Peg (away).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/peg%20%28away%29. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
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