verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb

1. 1
   To work at; compose (a book, etc.). transitive
2. 2
   To work for; earn by labour. transitive
3. 3
   To do violence to; violate. transitive

Etymology

From Middle English betravailen, equivalent to be- + travail.

Related phrases

work at

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.