Word
toil
US/ˈtɔɪɫ/
UK/tˈɔɪl/
Uncountable noun
Definition
n. hard work that is physically or mentally tiring and lasts for a long time.
n. prolonged, exhausting physical or mental labour. Often used in literary or formal contexts to emphasise the difficulty or repetitive nature of a task.
Examples
“After years of toil, the farmer finally owned his land.”
“The ancient monuments stand as a testament to the decades of human toil required to move such massive stones.”
“The scholar's life was one of quiet toil, spent mostly in dusty archives piecing together fragments of a forgotten language that few others cared to understand.”
Examples
simple
“After years of toil, the farmer finally owned his land.”
contextual
“The ancient monuments stand as a testament to the decades of human toil required to move such massive stones.”
complex
“The scholar's life was one of quiet toil, spent mostly in dusty archives piecing together fragments of a forgotten language that few others cared to understand.”
Usage
Typically uncountable when referring to the abstract concept of hard work; occasionally used with 'the' in literary descriptions of specific struggles.
Real-World Examples
“Tanzid then put on 93 with captain Najmul Hossain Shanto as Australia toiled in stiflingly hot conditions at the Marrara Oval.” “Rory McIlroy says "he felt lost" as he toils to a 66th-place finish - 25 strokes behind champion Scottie Scheffler - at the St Jude Championship in Memphis.” 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.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.C1 AdvancedIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.7.0–8.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 5.0–5.595–113TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.945–990
- Frequency
- Occasional
- Level
- C1 · Advanced
- Updated
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englishreference.com/q/toil