as in effort
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Recent Examples of spadework
Indeed, many diplomatic agreements are the product of several administrations, with one president benefiting from the spadework of predecessors.
—
Peter Baker, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2023
But the day-to-day spadework is already underway.
—Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 May 2021
Early spadework for the new batch of projects also dates back to the City of Cleveland’s 2004 Waterfront District Plan.
—Steven Litt, cleveland, 26 Feb. 2022
This was Biden’s third such visit to a House battleground in eight days, as the White House has married the president’s summer sales pitch for his infrastructure plans in Congress to Democrats’ political spadework ahead of the 2022 election.
—Eli Stokols Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2021
See All Example Sentences for spadework
Peter Baker, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2023
But the day-to-day spadework is already underway.
—Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 May 2021
Early spadework for the new batch of projects also dates back to the City of Cleveland’s 2004 Waterfront District Plan.
—Steven Litt, cleveland, 26 Feb. 2022
This was Biden’s third such visit to a House battleground in eight days, as the White House has married the president’s summer sales pitch for his infrastructure plans in Congress to Democrats’ political spadework ahead of the 2022 election.
—Eli Stokols Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2021
See All Example Sentences for spadework
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spadework
Noun
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Another reason this increase might not last for the full 400 years? GOP lawmakers are trying to repeal the law, an effort that could succeed if a Republican replaces Evers as governor and Republicans maintain legislative control.—
Hope Karnopp,
jsonline.com,
15 Aug. 2025
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President Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin are expected to meet today in Alaska for a high-stakes summit in an effort to end Russia's war with Ukraine.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
15 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Another says Stan Lee, frustrated by years of toil churning out uninspiring comics, was prompted by his wife to try something new that would excite him.—
Oliver Staley,
Time,
25 July 2025
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Poets toil as often-anonymous individuals building some greater nest, colony, or hive that might outlast us or end up squashed and swept away unceremoniously.—
Hannah Brooks-Motl
June 2,
Literary Hub,
2 June 2025
Noun
-
This erudite and thought-provoking book tackles a dominant issue of the day, and indeed of the last two centuries: whether the forward march of technology promises to free humankind from want and drudgery or instead threatens to enslave and even extinguish human civilization.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
19 Aug. 2025
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Andor seemed to, at last, have the power of the force on its side, engaging both the fandom and cultural critics with its stirring themes of revolution, hope, and peek inside the inner machinations (and drudgery) of a fascist regime.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
EW.com,
23 July 2025
Noun
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Side effects included extreme fatigue, nausea, mouth sores, and hair loss. Amber, who had always worn her blonde hair long, cut off 12 inches to prepare.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Aug. 2025
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Chronic fatigue, insomnia, burnout, and sleep medication dependency have become so common that they’re often dismissed as the cost of ambition.—
Rabbi Bruce D. Forman,
Sun Sentinel,
21 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Entirely outside the symbolic order, nature goes about its business, taking no notice of our seemingly momentous upheavals, our dumb travails.—
Michael Robbins,
Harpers Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
-
The band’s recent travails (which include some personal challenges for Carney) seem to color their songwriting, adding a bit of emotional ballast for a band whose lyrics often just seem like riffs on fun rock & roll tropes.—
Jon Dolan,
Rolling Stone,
7 Aug. 2025
Noun
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All over the Caribbean and throughout its diaspora, the consecutive days of reverie known as carnival or mas are traditions rooted in African ancestral connection and resistance to colonization and slavery.—
Mankaprr Conteh,
Rolling Stone,
23 Aug. 2025
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As a writer and active member of the Whig Party, Malthus was a reformer who advocated free national education, the extension of suffrage, the abolition of slavery and free medical care for the poor, among other programs.—
Roy Scranton,
The Conversation,
22 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spadework.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spadework. Accessed 29 Aug. 2025.
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