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Definition of effort in English:

effort

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noun

  • 1A vigorous or determined attempt.

    • ‘ in an effort to save money, I have committed to only buying items that I truly need’
    attempt, try, endeavour
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    1. 1.1The result of an attempt.
      • ‘he was a keen gardener, winning many prizes for his efforts’
      achievement, accomplishment, performance, attainment, result, feat, deed, exploit, undertaking, enterprise
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    2. 1.2Strenuous physical or mental exertion.
      • ‘achieving independence requires some effort and self-discipline’
      exertion, force, power, energy, work, muscle, application, labour, the sweat of one's brow, striving, endeavour, toil, struggle, slog, strain, stress, trouble, bother
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    3. 1.3with modifier The activities of a group of people with a common purpose.
      • ‘the war effort’

  • 2 technical A force exerted by a machine or in a process.

Pronunciation

effort

/ˈefərt/ /ˈɛfərt/

Phrases

    make an effort

    • Attempt to do something.

      • ‘make an effort to do some kind of abdominal exercise’
    make every effort

    • Try everything possible to achieve something.

      • ‘we will continue to make every effort to attract and retain staff’
    with effort

    • With physical difficulty.

      • ‘“It's bad, sir,” he said, controlling his voice with effort’

Origin

Late 15th century from French, from Old French esforcier, based on Latin ex- ‘out’ + fortis ‘strong’.