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effort

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Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionaryef·fort \ˈe-fərt, -ˌfȯrt\ noun ETYMOLOGY Middle French, from Old French esforz, esfort,from esforcier to force, from ex- + forcier to force DATE 15th century1. conscious exertion of power : hard work a job requiring time and effort2. a serious attempt : try making an effort to reduce costs3. something produced by exertion or trying the novel was her most ambitious effort4. effective force as distinguished from the possible resistance called into action by such a force5. the total work done to achieve a particular end the war effortEnglish Etymologyeffort late 15c., from M.Frhttp://M.Fr. effort, noun of action from O.Frhttp://O.Fr. esforz, from esforcier "force out, exert oneself," from V.L. *exfortiare "to show strength," from L. ex- "out" + fortis "strong.""Effort is only effort when it begins to hurt." [Ortega y Gasset, 1949] Related: Efforts.Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7☞ effortef·fort / 5efEt; NAmE 5efErt / noun1. [U, C] the physical or mental energy that you need to do sth; sth that takes a lot of energy 气力；努力；费力的事: You should put more effort into your work. 你应该更加努力地工作。 A lot of effort has gone into making this event a success. 为使这次活动成功费了很大的劲。 It's a long climb to the top, but well worth the effort. 爬到顶上路程很长,虽然费力却很值得。 Getting up this morning was quite an effort (= it was difficult). 今天早上起床相当费力。 (BrE) With (an) effort (= with difficulty) she managed to stop herself laughing. 她好不容易才忍住了笑。 2. [C] ~ (to do sth) an attempt to do sth especially when it is difficult to do 艰难的尝试；试图；尽力: a determined / real / special effort 坚决的/真正的/特别的努力 to make an effort 作出努力 The company has laid off 150 workers in an effort to save money. 公司为节省资金遣散了 150 名工人。 I didn't really feel like going out, but I am glad I made the effort. 我当时并不真想出去,不过我很庆幸还是出去了。 The local clubs are making every effort to interest more young people. 地方俱乐部正在尽一切努力来吸引更多的年轻人。 We need to make a concerted effort to finish on time. 我们需要通力合作才能按时完成。 I spent hours cleaning the house, but there isn't much to show for all my efforts. 我花了几个小时来打扫房子,但费了这么大力气却看不到多少效果。 With an effort of will he resisted the temptation. 他凭自己的意志顶住了这一诱惑。 The project was a joint / group effort. 这项工程是共同/集体努力的结果。 3. [C] (usually after a noun 通常置于名词后) a particular activity that a group of people organize in order to achieve sth 有组织的活动: the Russian space effort 俄罗斯航天计划 the United Nations' peacekeeping effort 联合国的维和行动 4. [C] the result of an attempt to do sth 努力的结果；成就: I'm afraid this essay is a poor effort. 很抱歉,这篇文章写得不好。 IDIOMS ⇨ see bend v. Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of EnglishOxford Collocations dictionary for students of Englisheffort noun 1 physical/mental energy needed to do sth ADJ. considerable | hard It took a whole day of hard effort to knock down the wall. | constant, sustained | extra | physical | intellectual, mental QUANT. amount the amount of effort required VERB + EFFORT demand, need, require, take It takes constant effort to become fluent in a language. | devote, expend, put in All the team members have put in a great deal of effort. | spare no No effort has been spared to make this hotel a welcoming, comfortable place. | be (well) worth The walk is difficult but well worth the effort. EFFORT + VERB go into A lot of effort went into making the costumes. PREP. with/without ~ This can be done quickly and with very little effort. PHRASES a great deal of effort 2 attempt to do sth ADJ. all-out, big, brave, determined, enormous, great, herculean, heroic, huge, major, remarkable, special, strenuous, superhuman, tremendous, valiant I can see you have made a big effort to clean up. | desperate, frantic their frantic efforts to put out the fire | final, last, last-ditch The UN General Secretary flew in in a last-ditch effort to save the talks. | genuine, positive, real, serious | feeble She made a feeble effort to smile, then started crying again. | sporadic I make sporadic efforts to sort out my files. | successful | fruitless, futile, unsuccessful | collaborative, collective, concerted, cooperative, joint, team Students, teachers and families got together in a team effort to decorate the school. | conscious, deliberate I have to make a conscious effort to be polite so early in the morning. | voluntary The museum relies on the voluntary efforts of enthusiasts. | fund-raising VERB + EFFORT make | increase, intensify, redouble, renew, step up The police have renewed their efforts to find the murderer. | channel, concentrate, focus The police channelled their efforts into searching around the river. | fail in He failed in h | resist The wound resisted all my efforts to stop it bleeding. | abandon | be rewarded for, reward Her efforts were rewarded when she won an Oscar. | applaud The gallery owner applauded the efforts of firefighters to save the exhibits. EFFORT + VERB come to nothing, fail PREP. in an/your ~ The club has changed the rules in an effort to make them fairer. | through sb's ~ Through their efforts, enough money was raised to buy the equipment. PHRASES your best efforts Despite our best efforts, we didn't manage to win the match. | a reward for your efforts Second prize was a fair reward for his efforts. | make every effort We are making every effort to obtain the release of the hostages. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus-11th Editionn. Function: noun 1 the active use of energy in producing a result FF1C;thought the job wasn't worth the effortFF1E; Synonyms: elbow grease, exertion, pains, trouble, while Related Words: labor, toil, travail, work; energy, force, might, power, puissance; attempt, endeavor, essay Idioms: sweat of one's brow Contrasted Words: adroitness, facility, smoothness; do-nothingness, inaction, indolence, inertia, lackadaisicalness, languor, laziness Antonyms: ease 2 Synonyms: TASK 2, chore, job, taskworkWebster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridgedef·fort\ˈefə(r)]t also -ˌfȯr] or -ˌfȯ(ə)] sometimes -ˌfōr] or -ˌfōə]; usu ]d.+V oun(-s)Etymology: Middle French, from Old French esfort, esforz, from Old French esforcier to force (as in s'esforcier to exert oneself) — more at efforce1. a. : conscious exertion of physical or mental power < the constant effort of the dreamer to attain his ideal — Henry Adams > < the church was built through community effort > < the speech of the Southerner appears to ignore effort in its slow, carelessly articulated syllables — American Guide Series: North Carolina > b. : expenditure of energy toward a particular end : forceful attempt < his clumsy efforts at certain rural tasks — A.C.Cole > < made one last effort to obtain Negro suffrage in the South — Carol L. Thompson > < the company's efforts to improve working conditions > c. : hard work < an A for effort > < the work is highly skillful … one feels, what was absent from the previous work, a distinct sense of effort — F.J.Mather >2. : the product or result of expenditure of energy — used especially of a literary or artistic creation < their magnificent churches being justly ranked among the most wonderful efforts of the human hand — H.T.Buckle > < one of his television efforts — J.P.Shanley >3. a. : active or effective force < muscular effort > b. : the force applied to a simple machine (as a lever) as distinguished from the force exerted by it against the load4. : the total energy expended and work done to achieve a particular purpose or result : undertaking < the war effort > < an unsuccessful rescue effort >Synonyms: effort, exertion, pains, and trouble can signify in common the active expenditure of physical or mental power in producing or attempting to produce a desired result. effort implies conscious attempt or a toiling or straining to achieve < to divorce the worker's income from any dependence on the efforts he makes — Time > < modern science, with infinite effort, has discovered and announced that man is a bewildering complex of energies — Henry Adams > < made an effort to increase his income > exertion stresses the active, often vigorous, exercise of a power or faculty < his work was done with remarkable grace, but with exertions which it was painful to witness — Margaret Deland > < prodigious exertions were made to bring in the cargoes and to protect the ships — Sir Winston Churchill > < by a violent exertion of his powers of self-command he reassumed his tranquillity — Elinor Wylie > pains implies toilsome or solicitous effort < taken unusual pains to inform himself beforehand concerning the subject matter of the conference — Vera M. Dean > < exercising great pains to improve one's speech > trouble implies exertion that inconveniences < a lazy man's expedient for ridding himself of the trouble of thinking and deciding — B.N.Cardozo > < no need to go to all the trouble of pushing through a constitutional amendment — Zechariah Chafee > < for the trouble of looking, … you will acquire the warm and palpitating facts of life — R.L.Stevenson >

Effort Effort Make From Force Noun Work Energy