Skip to main content
to toil

to toil

35 5.3
To work very hard for a long time
  • verb
  • /tɔɪl/
translation icon : trabajar duro
  • He toiled for years in the factory to provide for his family.
  • toil away
  • toil night and day
  • toil long hours

But so we could toil, they said, do the work of the gods.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • For 23 years, I toiled side-by-side with your father.

  • For many years, these individuals have toiled at many levels to support mentoring, not just in their schools, but in the university.

  • We must continue to toil here.

  • So after doing the initial pass, I will turn it over to Kit and let her toil away at this process.

  • For a bottle of wine, for a piece of bread, people toil away for two days.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Why commit that time and effort and toil to a story that you don't really care about?

  • Don't worry, friends, I will toil night and day Until I discover a way to get you home.

  • By the way, our colleagues who toil in the fields of science wring their hands about many of the same concerns.

  • By age eleven, he was living alone in a "hut" and toiling as a shepherd.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Luke hurried home to his fields and toiled vigorously all day beside his big brown boy.

    Fiction book (1996)

Synonyms

to work at
vsto toil
489 2.3

To try hard to get better at or finish something over time

is stronger, signifying extreme effort and often long duration
to grind
vsto toil
60 3.7

To work hard for a long time at a dull or repeated task

is broader and emphasizes high effort even beyond repetition
to labor
vsto toil
  • US
26 2.7

To work hard on difficult physical tasks

leans more to extreme, prolonged effort rather than general strong effort
to dig
vsto toil
23 2.6

To work hard at a task for a long time

is more intense, suggesting extreme physical or long lasting effort
to work like a dog
vsto toil
  • Informal
8 3.4

Spend a lot of time doing hard, tiring tasks

is more neutral and highlights great effort rather than lack of reward
to slog
vsto toil
5 6.7

To work hard for a long time on a task that is difficult or tiring

focuses more on very high effort intensity rather than steady pace
4 7.4

Do very hard, long jobs until you are very tired

overlaps but emphasizes extreme effort without the idiomatic image of exhaustion
to drudge
vsto toil
1 7.0

To work hard at boring, repetitive tasks for a long time

is less about low status and more about extreme effort itself
to work like a horse
vsto toil
  • Informal
1 3.6

To use a lot of energy to do a hard job for a long time

is similar but stresses prolonged extreme effort rather than energetic image
to travail
vsto toil
  • Literature
1 9.0

To work hard for a long time and suffer

stresses hard effort without necessarily implying suffering or pain
to moil
vsto toil
  • Archaic
1 9.9

To work very hard, often at a physical or long job

is broader and can apply to intense effort beyond physical monotony
to toiling
vsto toil
6.1

To work very hard doing physical or unpleasant jobs for a long time

is similar but highlights great effort rather than continuous timing
to fag
vsto toil
  • UK
9.9

To work very hard until you feel tired

is about the intense effort itself rather than chiefly causing tiredness
to work to the bone
vsto toil
  • Informal
6.0

To do very hard, long tasks until you are very tired

focuses on great sustained effort rather than specifically reaching collapse

Antonyms

to slack off
  • Informal
3 3.9

To become less strong or busy

How Hard

to slave
47 5.3
to toil
35 5.3
strain
72 4.3
labor
  • US
606 1.4
work
1.0

Surface Forms

toil infinitive
toiled past
toiled past participle
toiling present participle
toils third person singular

Etymology

Toil as a verb keeps that image: it is like 'pulling' a heavy load for a long time with steady effort. So to toil is to work very hard for a long time.