VocabauraVOCABAURA

toil

noun · verb

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

toyl
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈtɔɪl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. Labour, work, especially of a grueling nature.

  2. Productive work (especially physical work done for wages)

  3. usually in the plural

    A net or snare; any thread, web, or string spread for taking prey.

  4. Trouble, strife.

verb

  1. intransitive

    To labour; work.

  2. transitive

    To weary through excessive labour.

  3. Work hard

  4. transitive

    To work (something); often with out.

  5. intransitive

    To struggle.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Frequency
Uncommon
Typical Use
Primarily written

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Labour, work, especially of a grueling nature.

Used this way, toil is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Nearby words

  • labor , used mainly in Regional English

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “toil”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

hard toilhonest toilpatient toil

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: to labour

laborRegional

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “toil” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.