toil
verb /tɔɪl/
/tɔɪl/
(formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they toil | /tɔɪl/ /tɔɪl/ |
| he / she / it toils | /tɔɪlz/ /tɔɪlz/ |
| past simple toiled | /tɔɪld/ /tɔɪld/ |
| past participle toiled | /tɔɪld/ /tɔɪld/ |
| -ing form toiling | /ˈtɔɪlɪŋ/ /ˈtɔɪlɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive] to work very hard and/or for a long time, usually doing hard physical work synonym slave
- Hundreds of men toiled for years at building the pyramid.
- She toils tirelessly for various charities.
- [intransitive] + adv./prep. to move slowly and with difficulty synonym slog
- They toiled up the hill in the blazing sun.
Word OriginMiddle English (in the senses ‘contend verbally’ and ‘strife’): from Anglo-Norman French toiler ‘strive, dispute’, toil ‘confusion’, from Latin tudiculare ‘stir about’, from tudicula ‘machine for crushing olives’, related to tundere ‘crush’.