as in labor
very hard or unpleasant work
after years of toil in a sweatshop, Kim was finally able to start her own dressmaking business
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in tangle
usually toils plural
something that catches and holds
a married woman hopelessly caught in the toils of an extramarital affair
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in to labor
to devote serious and sustained effort
toiled for many years on the mammoth outdoor sculpture
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of toil
Tawanda Karombo, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Dec. 2024
Soft blue eyes; hair brown and profuse; moustache and beard; a rosy face, not without some lines stamped upon it by toil, exposure and care. .
—Matthew Karp, Harper's Magazine, 2 Dec. 2024
Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Feb. 2025
Cotton farming is a labor-intensive process, requiring workers to toil in the scorching sun for up to 10 hours a day under the watchful eyes of field supervisors.
—Photovogue, Vogue, 29 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for toil
Noun
Three-quarters of Zimbabweans toil in the informal workforce, one of the highest rates of off-the-books work in the world.
—Tawanda Karombo, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Dec. 2024
Soft blue eyes; hair brown and profuse; moustache and beard; a rosy face, not without some lines stamped upon it by toil, exposure and care. .
—Matthew Karp, Harper's Magazine, 2 Dec. 2024
Verb
The film’s titular character is a gifted 9-year-old who works at a sweatshop with her older sister, Palak, toiling for long hours with only one 15-minute break per shift.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Feb. 2025
Cotton farming is a labor-intensive process, requiring workers to toil in the scorching sun for up to 10 hours a day under the watchful eyes of field supervisors.
—Photovogue, Vogue, 29 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for toil
Recent Examples of Synonyms for toil
Verb
-
Ultimately, this post-neoliberal ideology and its adherents did not take tradeoffs seriously enough, laboring under an illusion that previous policymakers were too beholden to economic orthodoxy to make real progress for people.—
Jason Furman,
Foreign Affairs,
10 Feb. 2025
-
Employees who labored long hours on a dairy farm were disappointed on payday when their checks showed no overtime pay and was missing compensation for regular hours worked, Minnesota police said.—
Kate Linderman,
Kansas City Star,
5 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Meanwhile, Courtney Eaton is still struggling to accept Lottie’s fate while playing the character’s teen counterpart in the ’90s wilderness.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
28 Feb. 2025
-
Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman,wife Betsy Arakawa, found dead in their home Gene Hackman's health struggles: What is angina?—
Taijuan Moorman,
USA TODAY,
28 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Rogers cared deeply about the children his show touched, striving to spread kindness and make the world a better place.—
Makena Gera,
People.com,
27 Feb. 2025
-
If errors are made, they will be flagged and corrected as needed, while striving to do what's best for the American people.—
Gabrielle Emanuel,
NPR,
27 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
As of late, Goodman, an Oscar winner, has been working mostly in the TV space.—
Jack Dunn,
Variety,
8 Mar. 2025
-
Both work very well to ensure that the dirt, dust, and grime are actually coming out of the tiny grooves on your record.—
Parker Hall,
WIRED,
8 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Toil.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/toil. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share