toil
1 of 3noun (1)
ˈtȯi(-ə)l 
1
: long strenuous fatiguing labor
2
archaic
a
: struggle, battle
b
: laborious effort
toilful
ˈtȯi(-ə)l-fəl
adjective toilfully
ˈtȯi(-ə)l-fə-lē
adverb toil
2 of 3verb
toiled; toiling; toils
intransitive verb
1
: to work hard and long
2
: to proceed with laborious effort : plod
transitive verb
1
archaic : overwork
2
archaic : to get or accomplish with great effort
toiler
ˈtȯi-lər
noun toil
3 of 3noun (2)
1
: a net to trap game
2
: something by which one is held fast or inextricably involved : snare, trap —usually used in plural
caught in the toils of the law
Synonyms
Noun (1)
- donkeywork
- drudge
- drudgery
- fatigue
- grind
- labor
- moil
- slavery
- sweat
- travail
Verb
- bang away
- beaver (away)
- dig (away)
- drudge
- endeavor
- fag
- grub
- hump
- hustle
- labor
- moil
- peg (away)
- plod
- plow
- plug
- slave
- slog
- strain
- strive
- struggle
- sweat
- travail
- tug
- work
Noun (2)
- entanglement
- mesh(es)
- morass
- net
- noose
- quagmire
- quicksand
- snare
- tanglement
- trap
- web
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Verb workers toiling in the fields They were toiling up a steep hill.
Word History
Etymology
Noun (1)
Middle English toile, from Anglo-French toyl, from toiller
Verb
Middle English, to argue, struggle, from Anglo-French toiller to make dirty, fight, wrangle, from Latin tudiculare to crush, grind, from tudicula machine for crushing olives, diminutive of tudes hammer; akin to Latin tundere to beat — more at contusion
Noun (2)
Middle French toile cloth, net, from Old French teile, Latin tela cloth on a loom — more at subtle
First Known Use
Noun (1)
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Verb
15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1
Noun (2)
circa 1529, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
toil 1 of 2
noun
ˈtȯil
: long hard labor
toil
2 of 2verb
toiled; toiling
1
: to work hard and long
2
: to go on with effort
They were toiling up a steep hill.
toilers
noun
as in laborers
a person who does very hard or dull work on Labor Day we should give a thought to those toilers who work long hours at low-paying jobs Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- laborers
- workers
- slaves
- peons
- pluggers
- sloggers
- drudges
- grubbers
- grubs
- foot soldiers
- peones
- drudgers
- grunts
- serfs
- dogsbodies
- drones
- workhorses
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- shirkers
- idlers
- sluggards
- loafers
- slugs
- lazybones
- goldbricks
- slouches