as in laboring
to devote serious and sustained effort
slaving over a hot stove
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Recent Examples of slaving
Po’s journey begins while slaving away at his boring noodle job on the day the Dragon Warrior is to be chosen.
—
Skyler Trepel, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Nov. 2025
Maybe entrepreneurship to you means slaving away behind a laptop, answering to clients, suppliers and team members.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025
After two years away on loan while Leeds were slaving away in the second tier, the winger has returned to find his old No 11 shirt in Brenden Aaronson’s possession.
—The Athletic Uk Staff, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2025
Defined by exhaustion from slaving away at the ironing board while confronting the latest family crisis, Angela is quite capable of whipping up baloney sandwiches with mayonnaise for all and functions as a wise-cracking, big-hearted den mother.
—Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 4 Aug. 2025
Skyler Trepel, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Nov. 2025
Maybe entrepreneurship to you means slaving away behind a laptop, answering to clients, suppliers and team members.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025
After two years away on loan while Leeds were slaving away in the second tier, the winger has returned to find his old No 11 shirt in Brenden Aaronson’s possession.
—The Athletic Uk Staff, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2025
Defined by exhaustion from slaving away at the ironing board while confronting the latest family crisis, Angela is quite capable of whipping up baloney sandwiches with mayonnaise for all and functions as a wise-cracking, big-hearted den mother.
—Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 4 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slaving
Verb
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Doyley, who felt comfortable with her odds and wanted to continue laboring, argued during the hearing that C-sections carry their own dangers — including a risk of death.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
16 Mar. 2026
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With Anthony Edwards laboring because of a sore right knee, Randle and Ayo Dosunmu stepped in to pick up the scoring slack.—
Jon Krawczynski,
New York Times,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Governments across the continent are struggling with stubborn insurgencies.—
Obi Anyadike,
semafor.com,
23 Mar. 2026
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Sunday was a busy day at Logan Airport as TSA agents continue to work without pay during the partial government shutdown, though waits remained lower than many struggling with long lines around the country.—
Paul Burton,
CBS News,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Through the Daodejing, one of the central texts of Daoism, Laozi offers perspectives from a tumultuous period of status-striving in Chinese history – and shifts our focus from comparison and competition to contentment.—
Stephen Chen,
The Conversation,
18 Mar. 2026
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Being imaginative and continually striving to improve your craft are two things that are difficult to teach, and both are areas in which Arieonni excels.—
Heide Janssen,
Oc Register,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Since then, space access has become less of a contest, with hundreds of countries working together, said Geoff Notkin, former president of the National Space Society, a space advocacy nonprofit.—
Sarah D. Wire,
USA Today,
23 Mar. 2026
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That includes donations from the labor union for air traffic controllers, whose jobs are not impacted by this partial shutdown but who understand the strain of working without pay from full government closures.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
23 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Slaving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slaving. Accessed 25 Mar. 2026.
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