Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense endeavours, present participle endeavouring, past tense, past participle endeavouredregional note: in AM, use endeavor
1. verb
If you endeavourto do something, you try very hard to do it.
[formal]
I will endeavour to arrange it. [VERB to-infinitive]
They are endeavouring to protect trade union rights. [VERB to-infinitive]
Synonyms: try, labour, attempt, aim More Synonyms of endeavour
2. variable noun [oft NOUN to-infinitive]
An endeavour is an attempt to do something, especially something new or original.
[formal]
His first endeavours in the field were wedding films.
...the benefits of investment in scientific endeavour.
Synonyms: attempt, try, shot [informal], effort More Synonyms of endeavour
endeavour in British English
or US endeavor (ɪnˈdɛvə)
verb
1.
to try (to do something)
noun
2.
an effort to do or attain something
Derived forms
endeavourer (enˈdeavourer) or US endeavorer (enˈdeavorer)
noun
Word origin
C14: endeveren, from en-1 + -deveren from dever duty, from Old French deveir; see devoirs
Examples of 'endeavour' in a sentence
endeavour
She is proud of her literary endeavours.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
His own scientific endeavours have clearly influenced some of his choices of subject matter.
The Times Literary Supplement (2010)
It was a collective and socialist endeavour.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
We endeavour to keep all our vehicles as secure as possible.
The Sun (2008)
This is shopping as a creative and artistic endeavour run amok.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
There is an outer wall of human endeavour.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
What the fight lacked in technical ability they made up for by honest endeavour.
The Sun (2011)
Their effort and endeavour got them back in it.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
And the accounts of the scientific endeavours cannot fail to impress.
The Times Literary Supplement (2008)
People who set realistic goals are more likely to keep at their endeavour.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
It can be the ally of artistic endeavour.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
My players put in the effort and endeavour to win the match.
The Sun (2006)
He won battles and endeavoured to keep casualties as low as possible.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
What this tells us is that morality is not so much an individual endeavour as a collective one.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The ground floor could be rented out and that would still leave four more crammed with scientific endeavour.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Instead he was worried that people with different tastes to his were diluting the purity of the artistic endeavour.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
This is a place where human endeavour and natural landscape have rubbed along so well that both look better than anywhere else.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
News of her literary endeavours filtered back to London.
Paula Byrne PERDITA: The Life of Mary Robinson (2004)
His father was horrified by his son's literary endeavours.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
It was supposed to be about joy, discipline and honest endeavour.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Few human endeavours are as absorbing yet as productive of cynicism as an American presidential election campaign.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
His answer is simple: honest endeavour.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
You can't fault the effort and endeavour.
The Sun (2012)
It is a story reflecting courage, endeavour and scientific innovation.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
He's working on another poem but doesn't see literary endeavour taking over his life.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The project is particularly interested in questions offering a sense of realistic optimism and collective endeavour; recognising how the world is changing and how society might adapt.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
In other languages
endeavour
British English: endeavour VERB
If you endeavour to do something, you try very hard to do it.
I will endeavour to arrange it.
American English: endeavor
Brazilian Portuguese: tentar
Chinese: 努力
European Spanish: esforzarse
French: s'efforcer
German: sich bemühen
Italian: tentare
Japanese: 努力する
Korean: ~하려고 애쓰다
European Portuguese: tentar
Latin American Spanish: esforzarse
British English: endeavour NOUN
An endeavour is an attempt to do something, especially something new or original.
His first endeavours in the field were wedding films.
American English: endeavor
Brazilian Portuguese: tentativa
Chinese: 尝试
European Spanish: esfuerzo
French: tentative
German: Bemühung
Italian: tentativo
Japanese: 試み
Korean: 시도
European Portuguese: tentativa
Latin American Spanish: esfuerzo
Chinese translation of 'endeavour'
endeavour
or (US) endeavor
(ɪnˈdɛvəʳ)
(frm)
n
(c) (= attempt) 尝(嘗)试(試) (chángshì) (次, cì)
(u) (= effort) 努力 (nǔlì)
vi
to endeavour to do sth尝(嘗)试(試)做某事 (chángshì zuò mǒushì)
(verb)
Definition
to try (to do something)
I will endeavour to rectify the situation.
Synonyms
try
He secretly tried to block her advancement in the Party.
labour
For years he laboured to build a religious community.
attempt
We attempted to do something like that here.
aim
struggle
They had to struggle against all kinds of adversity.
venture
undertake
She undertook the arduous task of monitoring the elections.
essay (formal)
She essayed a smile, but it was a dismal failure.
strive
He strives hard to keep himself very fit.
aspire
have a go
go for it (informal)
make an effort
have a shot (informal)
Why don't you have a shot at it?
have a crack (informal)
take pains
bend over backwards (informal)
People are bending over backwards to please customers.
do your best
go for broke (slang)
bust a gut (informal)
give it your best shot (informal)
jump through hoops (informal)
have a stab (informal)
break your neck (informal)
make an all-out effort (informal)
knock yourself out (informal)
do your damnedest (informal)
give it your all (informal)
rupture yourself (informal)
(noun)
Definition
an effort to do something
His first endeavours in the field were wedding films.
Synonyms
attempt
a deliberate attempt to destabilize defence
try
I didn't really expect anything, but it was worth a try.
shot (informal)
He will be given a shot at the world title.
effort
He made no effort to hide.
trial
go (informal)
It took us two goes to get the colour right.
aim
bid
a bid to silence its critics
crack (informal)
I'd love to have a crack at the title next year.
venture
a Russian-American joint venture
enterprise
Horse breeding is a risky enterprise.
undertaking
Organizing the show has been a massive undertaking.
essay (formal)
My first essay in running a company was a disaster.
stab (informal)
Several times tennis stars have had a stab at acting.
Additional synonyms
in the sense of bend over backwards
People are bending over backwards to please customers.