What does "toil" mean?
Labour, work, especially of a grueling nature.
Toil
/tɔɪl/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Labour, work, especially of a grueling nature.
- Grammar: toil is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: labor, ability to work, apply, apply effort.
- Useful contrasts: cease, coasts, comfort.
- Usage evidence: Toil and worry caused his health to break down.
How to use "toil"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "toil" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "toil" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "toil" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "toil" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "toil" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "labor" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "toil", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Labour, work, especially of a grueling nature. countable, uncountable
"[…] he set to work again and made the snow fly in all directions around him. After some further toil his efforts were rewarded, and a very shabby door-mat lay exposed to view."
- 2 Initialism of time off in lieu (of monetary compensation for overtime). UK, abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, uncountable
- 3 productive work (especially physical work done for wages) wordnet
- 4 Trouble, strife. countable, uncountable
- 5 A net or snare; any thread, web, or string spread for taking prey. countable, plural-normally, uncountable
"Then toils for beasts, and lime for birds, were found."
Verb
- 1 To labour; work. intransitive
- 2 work hard wordnet
- 3 To struggle. intransitive
- 4 To work (something); often with out. transitive
"places well toiled and husbanded"
- 5 To weary through excessive labour. transitive
"toiled with works of war"
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Toil and worry caused his health to break down."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "toil"?
Common synonyms include: labor, ability to work, apply, apply effort, bait, be employed.
How do you use "toil" in a sentence?
Toil and worry caused his health to break down.
How do you pronounce "toil"?
Pronounced /tɔɪl/.
Etymology
From Middle English toilen, toylen, apparently a conflation of Anglo-Norman toiller (“to agitate, stir up, entangle”) (compare Old Northern French tooillier, tooullier (“to agitate, stir”); of unknown origin), and Middle English tilyen, telien, teolien, tolen, tolien, tulien (“to till, work, labour”), from Old English tilian, telian, teolian, tiolian (“to exert oneself, toil, work, make, generate, strive after, try, endeavor, procure, obtain, gain, provide, tend, cherish, cultivate, till, plough, trade, traffic, aim at, aspire to, treat, cure”) (compare Middle Dutch tuylen, teulen (“to till, work, labour”)), from Proto-Germanic *tilōną (“to strive, reach for, aim for, hurry”). Cognate with Scots tulyie (“to quarrel, flite, contend”). An alternate etymology derives Middle English toilen, toylen directly from Middle Dutch tuylen, teulen (“to work, labour, till”), from tuyl ("agriculture, labour, toil"; > Modern Dutch tuil (“toil; work”)). Cognate with Old Frisian teula (“to labour, toil”), teule (“labour, work”), Dutch tuil (“toil, labour”). Compare also Dutch telen (“to grow; raise; cultivate, till”). More at till.