as in laboring
to devote serious and sustained effort
toiled for many years on the mammoth outdoor sculpture
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Recent Examples of toiling
Senior Tre White, meanwhile, also had his worst offensive game of the 2025-26 campaign, cashing just two points — 0-for-3 from the field and 2-of-2 from the line — while toiling 15 minutes the first half, just eight the second stanza.
—
Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 14 Feb. 2026
Graduate students and postdoctoral researchers are the worker bees of academia, toiling in labs for years in hopes of one day running their own hive.
—Jonathan Wosen, STAT, 4 Feb. 2026
Those past records found the artist toiling through major personal losses, including his mother in 2016 and his sister in 2019.
—Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 23 Jan. 2026
After a decade of toiling largely behind the scenes, David decided to take some credit.
—Reeves Wiedeman, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2026
In Ishmaelle’s case that meant toiling away in poverty for the rest of her life back in Kent.
—Literary Hub, 8 Jan. 2026
But for those who’d been toiling away on humanoid robots for decades, Musk’s announcement was something more than a publicity stunt.
—James Vincent, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
Between 1906 and 1935, thousands of men – and later women – left their hometowns in the Ilocos and Visayas regions of the Philippines for Hawaii, toiling on plantations alongside other immigrant workers.
—Sam Vong, The Conversation, 18 Dec. 2025
In the 106 years since, humanity has remained captivated by the notion that machines could take over our daily work, as well as by the grim but entertaining idea that toiling automata will get murderously sick of picking up laundry.
—David M. Ewalt, Scientific American, 16 Dec. 2025
Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 14 Feb. 2026
Graduate students and postdoctoral researchers are the worker bees of academia, toiling in labs for years in hopes of one day running their own hive.
—Jonathan Wosen, STAT, 4 Feb. 2026
Those past records found the artist toiling through major personal losses, including his mother in 2016 and his sister in 2019.
—Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 23 Jan. 2026
After a decade of toiling largely behind the scenes, David decided to take some credit.
—Reeves Wiedeman, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2026
In Ishmaelle’s case that meant toiling away in poverty for the rest of her life back in Kent.
—Literary Hub, 8 Jan. 2026
But for those who’d been toiling away on humanoid robots for decades, Musk’s announcement was something more than a publicity stunt.
—James Vincent, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
Between 1906 and 1935, thousands of men – and later women – left their hometowns in the Ilocos and Visayas regions of the Philippines for Hawaii, toiling on plantations alongside other immigrant workers.
—Sam Vong, The Conversation, 18 Dec. 2025
In the 106 years since, humanity has remained captivated by the notion that machines could take over our daily work, as well as by the grim but entertaining idea that toiling automata will get murderously sick of picking up laundry.
—David M. Ewalt, Scientific American, 16 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for toiling
Verb
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The son of a medical-gas plumber who worked night shifts, Darnold just kept laboring at his craft.—
Sally Jenkins,
The Atlantic,
9 Feb. 2026
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In the summer of 2024, UNICEF’s representative in Congo suggested that 361,000 children might be laboring in mines in southern Congo, though this number seems implausibly high and drew quick opprobrium from Congolese NGOs that work on the issue.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Know More Apple’s leadership once thought Apple News could be an antidote to bad information online, and serve as a lifeline for a struggling news industry displaced by powerful tech platforms.—
semafor.com,
semafor.com,
16 Feb. 2026
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The University of Houston poll shows Abbott's preferred candidates struggling with Republican primary voters.—
John C. Moritz,
Austin American Statesman,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Japan has been striving to develop stem-cell therapies, with Kyoto University’s CiRA, which runs a clinical-grade iPS cell bank, providing researchers access to prepared cells that can be used in trials for a range of conditions.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
20 Feb. 2026
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Solomon has spent years striving to fill that knowledge gap, making his book both timely and important.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The expansive grounds cover 19 acres bordering the river, including a recreated 19th-century New England coastal village, a working shipyard, and the only wooden whaleship ship still afloat in the United States.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
16 Feb. 2026
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This research addresses one of the most complex problems in current robotics, the coordination of two arms working together.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Toiling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/toiling. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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