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
The 60-year-old owner of All-Pro Lawnmower Sales, Service & Recycling at 555 Santa Fe Drive in Denver spends his days toiling on small engines.
—
Matthew Geiger, Denver Post, 29 May 2026
These figures are not the proprietary work of a data scientist toiling away late into the night.
—Evan Drellich, New York Times, 27 May 2026
Though work continues to be handled outside the Trop, a workload with increasing demands with the summer months upon us, the Rays’ grounds crew takes care of a field inside without having to change clothes multiple times per day while toiling in unrelenting heat and humidity.
—Tom Layberger, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
Torn between toiling away at farmwork, his corrective swimming lessons, and learning music from a local organist — the elderly Michel (Alexandre Astier, Clichy’s former directing partner), who shows him more kindness than most — Christophe’s world gradually widens.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 19 May 2026
When your partner is a creative person toiling away as an artist, that conversation is typically a tangled knot of hearts and minds and money and desires and needs and space and time.
—Literary Hub, 18 May 2026
Wilson’s a working musician’s musician, having spent much of his career toiling at full-time jobs while playing the saxophone and writing music on the side.
—Charles Moss, SPIN, 18 May 2026
This is, of course, nothing new to the series, and the players that don’t want to spend ages toiling away for a single car, let alone a single part, looking to simply hop on their couch and straight into a GR GT will appreciate this.
—Adam Ismail, The Drive, 14 May 2026
During the weekends, my partner and I will be out in the yard, toiling away at various landscaping and home improvement projects, and sometimes our neighbors are out doing the same.
—Judith Martin, Mercury News, 7 May 2026
Matthew Geiger, Denver Post, 29 May 2026
These figures are not the proprietary work of a data scientist toiling away late into the night.
—Evan Drellich, New York Times, 27 May 2026
Though work continues to be handled outside the Trop, a workload with increasing demands with the summer months upon us, the Rays’ grounds crew takes care of a field inside without having to change clothes multiple times per day while toiling in unrelenting heat and humidity.
—Tom Layberger, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
Torn between toiling away at farmwork, his corrective swimming lessons, and learning music from a local organist — the elderly Michel (Alexandre Astier, Clichy’s former directing partner), who shows him more kindness than most — Christophe’s world gradually widens.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 19 May 2026
When your partner is a creative person toiling away as an artist, that conversation is typically a tangled knot of hearts and minds and money and desires and needs and space and time.
—Literary Hub, 18 May 2026
Wilson’s a working musician’s musician, having spent much of his career toiling at full-time jobs while playing the saxophone and writing music on the side.
—Charles Moss, SPIN, 18 May 2026
This is, of course, nothing new to the series, and the players that don’t want to spend ages toiling away for a single car, let alone a single part, looking to simply hop on their couch and straight into a GR GT will appreciate this.
—Adam Ismail, The Drive, 14 May 2026
During the weekends, my partner and I will be out in the yard, toiling away at various landscaping and home improvement projects, and sometimes our neighbors are out doing the same.
—Judith Martin, Mercury News, 7 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for toiling
Verb
-
With evacuation shelters reaching capacity as more than 40,000 people were asked to leave their homes, officials laboring to prevent an explosion at a crippled chemical tank in Garden Grove reported tentative progress Sunday in ending the crisis.—
Deborah Netburn,
Los Angeles Times,
24 May 2026
-
Makar has played in every game this postseason, but was clearly laboring in Game 5 against the Minnesota Wild.—
Corey Masisak,
Denver Post,
20 May 2026
Verb
-
Even as Sand downplays party politics, Democrats are putting faith in him to blaze a trail in the state after struggling electorally in recent cycles.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 June 2026
-
But as the two collaborators went on to explain, a superhero buddy comedy about a struggling actor that’s as interested in the logistics of auditions as saving the universe is a tough sell for any brand.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
7 June 2026
Verb
-
The multi-million dollar production process on this asset alone showcases the level of detail that Xbox is striving to achieve with this game, according to Activision chief marketing officer Tyler Bahl.—
Jennifer Maas,
Variety,
28 May 2026
-
As for the Cavaliers, their partnership with The Realest involves both organizations striving to achieve two goals.—
Mark Medina,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2026
Verb
-
Dabbing the cloth in rubbing alcohol, working away the dirty blots on the glass, waiting for the haze in my head to focus, and a new line to come to me.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 June 2026
-
The unemployment rate among young people is about twice as high as the national average; and 40% of college grads who are working have taken jobs that don't require a college degree, like temporary or part-time gigs.—
David Pogue,
CBS News,
7 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Toiling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/toiling. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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