WordGarden.iotoil
B2Pronunciation
UK
- /tˈɔɪl/
US
- /ˈtɔɪl/
Meanings
Noun
hard and exhausting work
Verb
to work very hard for a long time
to move or make progress with painful effort
Beyond the definition
To toil means to work very hard for a long time, usually in a tiring or difficult way. It is not just any kind of work. It suggests steady effort when the job is heavy, slow, or unpleasant. You can picture farmers working in the hot sun or miners deep underground. The word is also often used in stories and older writing, which gives it a slightly old-fashioned tone. As a noun, toil can also mean hard, tiring labor itself. You might say someone "toiled for years" to reach a goal, showing how long and difficult the path was.
The word "toil" brings to mind hard, exhausting work that goes on and on. It is more than simple effort. It suggests working through difficulty, tiredness, or poor conditions. Someone who toils is usually not doing easy or pleasant work. The word often points to effort that is heavy, repetitive, or slow, and it can describe both physical and mental work.
When we say someone "works hard," the meaning is fairly neutral. When we say someone "toils," we add the idea of strain and long effort. A writer may work on a book, but they may also toil over every sentence. A parent may work to support a family, but they may also toil through sleepless nights and constant demands.
You will often see "toil" in descriptions of laborers, poor workers, or people facing hardship. It fits fields, factories, kitchens, building sites, and other places where work is demanding. It can also be used in a wider, more figurative way for mental effort, as in someone toiling over a difficult problem for hours.
Toil can also be a noun. In that form, it means hard and tiring labor: "After years of toil, they finally had enough money to rest." Overall, the word carries a strong sense of difficulty, endurance, and steady effort. When you hear it, picture work that asks a lot from a person and gives little ease in return.
Examples
- 1
Farm labor
Farm workers toiled in the fields from sunrise to sunset.
- 2
Academic work
She spent months toiling over her dissertation.
- Patterntoil over + task
work very hard on it for a long time
- 3
Ongoing work
While everyone else was relaxing, he was still toiling away at the shop.
- Patterntoil away at + task/place
keep working hard at it
- 4
Hard work noun
The small business was built through years of toil and sacrifice.
More examplesFewer examples
- 5
Reward after work
After all that toil, finally seeing the house finished felt worth it.
See also
Forms and spellings
4 forms open this card.
Main spelling
- toilnounverb
Forms
- toiling-ing formverbnoun
- toiledpast tenseverbnoun
- toilsverbnoun