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
Rika spends most of her days toiling in a frozen-foods warehouse, but her new gig is in a museum, where she has been hired to make conversation, in Latin, with an ancient Roman statue of the goddess Venus.
—
Literary Hub, 5 Mar. 2026
Rika spends most of her days toiling in a frozen-foods warehouse, but her new gig is in a museum, where she has been hired to make conversation, in Latin, with an ancient Roman statue of the goddess Venus.
—Sarah Chihaya, New Yorker, 3 Mar. 2026
Here, midfield injuries are more painfully felt with every passing week, and those across the front line, namely Watkins, Emiliano Buendia, and the returning Leon Bailey, are visibly toiling.
—Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2026
Beyond the basics—such as avoiding August and its toiling hot weather—there are Texas-specific seasons to keep in mind when planning your travels, from catching the Hill Country in bloom to attending your first rodeo or state fair.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 28 Feb. 2026
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
Literary Hub, 5 Mar. 2026
Rika spends most of her days toiling in a frozen-foods warehouse, but her new gig is in a museum, where she has been hired to make conversation, in Latin, with an ancient Roman statue of the goddess Venus.
—Sarah Chihaya, New Yorker, 3 Mar. 2026
Here, midfield injuries are more painfully felt with every passing week, and those across the front line, namely Watkins, Emiliano Buendia, and the returning Leon Bailey, are visibly toiling.
—Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2026
Beyond the basics—such as avoiding August and its toiling hot weather—there are Texas-specific seasons to keep in mind when planning your travels, from catching the Hill Country in bloom to attending your first rodeo or state fair.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 28 Feb. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for toiling
Verb
-
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
-
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
-
No workers for mundane tasks Diez revealed that manufacturers worldwide are struggling to find laborers for highly repetitive physical tasks.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Dogs generally aren’t allowed on cruises, but after struggling to find a flight that would allow pets in the cabin, Morris decided to bring Monty across the pond in the storied ocean liner’s kennels – one of the only ways cruise travelers' furry friends can sail the high seas.—
Nathan Diller,
USA Today,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Midway through Ramadan, Muslims across the United States are striving to maintain the holy month’s traditional mix of prayers and festive spirit under a cloud of worrisome events.—
Luis Andres Henao,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Figure on an almost completely different combination striving to finish games in August and September.—
Tim Cowlishaw,
Dallas Morning News,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
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China’s biggest chain of eye hospitals is working with an adviser on the share sale, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.—
Julia Fioretti,
Bloomberg,
9 Mar. 2026
-
The papers allege that his working hours at the school and with the city overlapped.—
Cerys Davies,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Toiling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/toiling. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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