ef·fort

(ĕf′ərt)

1. The use of physical or mental energy to do something; exertion.

2. A difficult exertion of strength or will: It was an effort to get up.

3. A usually earnest attempt: Make an effort to arrive promptly.

4. Something done or produced through exertion; an achievement: a play that was his finest effort.

5. Physics

a. Force applied against inertia.

b. The force needed by a machine to accomplish work on a load.

[Middle English, from Old French esfort, from esforcier, to force, exert, from Medieval Latin exfortiāre : Latin ex-, ex- + Latin fortis, strong; see bhergh- in Indo-European roots.]

ef′fort·ful adj.

ef′fort·ful·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

effort

(ˈɛfət)

1. physical or mental exertion, usually considerable when unqualified: the rock was moved with effort.

2. a determined attempt: our effort to save him failed.

3. achievement; creation: a great literary effort.

4. (General Physics) physics an applied force acting against inertia

[C15: from Old French esfort, from esforcier to force, ultimately from Latin fortis strong; see force¹]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ef•fort

(ˈɛf ərt)

n.

1. exertion of physical or mental power.

2. an earnest or strenuous attempt.

3. something done by exertion or hard work.

4. an achievement, as in literature or art: The painting is one of her finest efforts.

5. action undertaken by a group for a specified purpose: the war effort.

6. the force or energy that is applied to a machine for the accomplishment of useful work.

[1480–90; < Middle French; Old French esfort, esforz, derivative of esforcier to force (es- ex-¹ + forcier to force)]

syn: effort, application, endeavor, exertion imply energetic activity and expenditure of energy. effort is an expenditure of physical or mental energy to accomplish some objective: He made an effort to control himself. application is continuous effort plus careful attention and diligence: application to one's studies. endeavor means a continued and sustained series of efforts to achieve some end, often worthy and difficult: an endeavor to rescue survivors. exertion is vigorous action or effort, frequently without an end in view: out of breath from exertion.

effort

If you make an effort to do something, you try hard to do it.

Schmitt made one more effort to escape.

Little effort has been made to investigate this claim.

Be Careful!
Don't say that someone 'does an effort'.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	effort - earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something; "made an effort to cover all the reading material"; "wished him luck in his endeavor"; "she gave it a good try" attempt, try, endeavor, endeavour batting - (baseball) the batter's attempt to get on base best - the supreme effort one can make; "they did their best" worst - the weakest effort or poorest achievement one is capable of; "it was the worst he had ever done on a test" activity - any specific behavior; "they avoided all recreational activity" bid, play - an attempt to get something; "they made a futile play for power"; "he made a bid to gain attention" fling, go, offer, whirl, crack, pass - a usually brief attempt; "he took a crack at it"; "I gave it a whirl" essay - a tentative attempt foray - an initial attempt (especially outside your usual areas of competence); "scientists' forays into politics" contribution, share, part - the part played by a person in bringing about a result; "I am proud of my contribution in advancing the project"; "they all did their share of the work" liberation - the attempt to achieve equal rights or status; "she worked for women's liberation" mug's game - a futile or unprofitable endeavor power play, squeeze play, squeeze - an aggressive attempt to compel acquiescence by the concentration or manipulation of power; "she laughed at this sexual power play and walked away" seeking - an attempt to acquire or gain something stab, shot - informal words for any attempt or effort; "he gave it his best shot"; "he took a stab at forecasting" shot - an attempt to score in a game nisus, pains, striving, strain - an effortful attempt to attain a goal struggle, battle - an energetic attempt to achieve something; "getting through the crowd was a real struggle"; "he fought a battle for recognition" takeover attempt - an attempt to take control of a corporation trial, run, test - the act of testing something; "in the experimental trials the amount of carbon was measured separately"; "he called each flip of the coin a new trial" trial, test - the act of undergoing testing; "he survived the great test of battle"; "candidates must compete in a trial of skill"
	2.	effort - use of physical or mental energy; hard work; "he got an A for effort"; "they managed only with great exertion" elbow grease, exertion, travail, sweat toil, labor, labour - productive work (especially physical work done for wages); "his labor did not require a great deal of skill" struggle - strenuous effort; "the struggle to get through the crowd exhausted her" difficulty, trouble - an effort that is inconvenient; "I went to a lot of trouble"; "he won without any trouble"; "had difficulty walking"; "finished the test only with great difficulty" least effort, least resistance - the least effortful way to do something straining, strain - an intense or violent exertion exercise, exercising, physical exercise, physical exertion, workout - the activity of exerting your muscles in various ways to keep fit; "the doctor recommended regular exercise"; "he did some exercising"; "the physical exertion required by his work kept him fit" pull - a sustained effort; "it was a long pull but we made it" diligence, application - a diligent effort; "it is a job requiring serious application" overkill - any effort that seems to go farther than would be necessary to achieve its goal supererogation - an effort above and beyond the call of duty overexertion - excessive exertion; so much exertion that discomfort or injury results detrition, friction, rubbing - effort expended in moving one object over another with pressure
	3.	effort - a notable achievement; "he performed a great feat"; "the book was her finest effort" exploit, feat accomplishment, achievement - the action of accomplishing something derring-do - brave and heroic feats hit - (baseball) a successful stroke in an athletic contest (especially in baseball); "he came all the way around on Williams' hit" rally, rallying - the feat of mustering strength for a renewed effort; "he singled to start a rally in the 9th inning"; "he feared the rallying of their troops for a counterattack" stunt - a difficult or unusual or dangerous feat; usually done to gain attention tour de force - a masterly or brilliant feat
	4.	effort - a series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward a particular end; "he supported populist campaigns"; "they worked in the cause of world peace"; "the team was ready for a drive toward the pennant"; "the movement to end slavery"; "contributed to the war effort" crusade, campaign, cause, drive, movement venture - any venturesome undertaking especially one with an uncertain outcome ad blitz, ad campaign, advertising campaign - an organized program of advertisements anti-war movement - a campaign against entering or continuing a war charm campaign - a campaign of flattery and friendliness (by a company, politician, etc.) to become more popular and gain support consumerism - a movement advocating greater protection of the interests of consumers campaigning, candidacy, candidature, electioneering, political campaign - the campaign of a candidate to be elected fund-raising campaign, fund-raising drive, fund-raising effort - a campaign to raise money for some cause feminist movement, women's lib, women's liberation movement, feminism - the movement aimed at equal rights for women gay lib, gay liberation movement - the movement aimed at liberating homosexuals from legal or social or economic oppression lost cause - a defeated cause or a cause for which defeat is inevitable reform - a campaign aimed to correct abuses or malpractices; "the reforms he proposed were too radical for the politicians" war - a concerted campaign to end something that is injurious; "the war on poverty"; "the war against crime" youth crusade, youth movement - political or religious or social reform movement or agitation consisting chiefly of young people

effort

noun

1. attempt, try, endeavour, shot (informal), bid, essay, go (informal), stab (informal) He made no effort to hide.

2. exertion, work, labour, trouble, force, energy, struggle, stress, application, strain, striving, graft, toil, welly (slang), hard graft, travail (literary), elbow grease (facetious), blood, sweat, and tears (informal) A great deal of effort had been put into the planning.

3. achievement, act, performance, product, job, production, creation, feat, deed, accomplishment, attainment The gallery is showcasing her latest efforts.

Quotations
"Effort is only effort when it begins to hurt" [José Oretega y Gasset In Search of Goethe From Within, Letter to a German]
"Lovely it is, when the winds are churning up the waves on the great sea, to gaze out from the land on the great efforts of someone else" [Lucretius De Rerum Natura]
"Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well" [Lord Chesterfield Letters to His Son]
"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might" Bible: Ecclesiastes

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

effort

noun

1. The use of energy to do something:

endeavor, exertion, pain (used in plural), strain, striving, struggle, trouble, while.

Informal: elbow grease.

2. A difficult or tedious undertaking:

chore, task.

Informal: job.

3. A trying to do or make something:

attempt, crack, endeavor, essay, go, offer, stab, trial, try.

Informal: shot.

Slang: take.

Archaic: assay.

4. Something completed or attained successfully:

accomplishment, achievement, acquirement, acquisition, attainment, feat.

Translations

جُهْدنَتيجَة المُحاوَلَهتَعَب

úsilí

anstrengelsebestræbelseindsatsumagen værd

Anstrengung Aufwand Versuch

αγώνας προσπάθεια

esfuerzo intento trabajo

vaivannäkö

effort essai peine requête

naportrud

erõkifejtés

átak, erfiîitilraun, viîleitni

sforzo fatica

努力

노력

be pastangųnereikalaujantis pastangųpastanga

piepūlepūlessasniegums

inspanning

anstrengelse kraftanstrengelse krafttak

wysiłek

esforço

усилие напряжение труд

námaha

napor

ansträngning

ความพยายาม

çaba gayret sonuç başarı

nỗ lực

努力努力的成果尽力艰难的尝试费力

effort

[ˈefət] N

1. (= hard work) → esfuerzo m
all his effort was directed to → todos sus esfuerzos iban dirigidos a ...
it was an effort to get up; getting up was an effort → levantarse resultaba un esfuerzo
put a bit of effort into it! → ¡esfuérzate un poco!, ¡pon un poco más de esfuerzo!
to spare no effort to do sth → no regatear esfuerzos para hacer algo
without effort → sin ningún esfuerzo
it's not worth the effort → no merece la pena
it's well worth the effort → merece la pena

2. (= attempt) → intento m, tentativa f
it's not bad for a first effort → no está mal para ser su primer intento or la primera vez que lo intenta
a good effort → un feliz intento
in an effort to solve the problem/be polite → en un esfuerzo por resolver el problema/ser amable
his latest effort (hum) → su último intento
what did you think of his latest effort? → ¿qué te pareció su última obra?
to make an effort to do sth → esforzarse en hacer algo, hacer un esfuerzo por hacer algo
he made no effort to be polite → no hizo ningún esfuerzo por ser amable
please make every effort to come → haz un esfuerzo por venir
thank you for making the effort to be here → gracias por tomarse la molestia de venir
it was a pretty poor effort → fue un intento bastante flojo
the war effort los esfuerzos realizados por la población civil durante una guerra

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

effort

[ˈɛfə^rt] n

(= work) → effort m
a waste of effort → un effort inutile
to put a lot of effort into sth (= work hard on) → se donner beaucoup de mal pour qch
to be worth the effort → en valoir la peine
to make the effort to do sth (= take the trouble) → faire l'effort de faire qch

(= attempt) → effort m
to make an effort to do sth → faire un effort pour faire qch, s'efforcer de faire qch
to make no effort to do sth → ne pas se donner la peine de faire qch

(= difficulty) with an effort → avec difficulté
to be an effort to do sth (= difficult) → être un effort de faire qch
It was an effort to concentrate → C'était un effort de se concentrer.

to do sth by an effort of will (= force o.s.) → faire qch dans un effort de volonté

effort

(= attempt) → Versuch m; (= strain, hard work) → Anstrengung f, → Mühe f; (Mech) → Leistung f; to make an effort to do something → den Versuch unternehmen, etw zu tun, sich bemühen, etw zu tun; to make the effort to do something → sich (dat) → die Mühe machen, etw zu tun; to make every effort or a great effort to do something → sich sehr bemühen or anstrengen, etw zu tun; to make every possible effort to do something → jede nur mögliche Anstrengung or große Anstrengungen unternehmen or machen, etw zu tun; to make little effort to do something → sich (dat) → wenig Mühe geben, etw zu tun; he made no effort to be polite → er machte sich (dat) → nicht die Mühe, höflich zu sein; it’s an effort (to get up in the morning) → es kostet einige Mühe or Anstrengung(, morgens aufzustehen); getting up was an effort → das Aufstehen kostete einige Mühe or Anstrengung; he had to double his efforts → er musste seine Anstrengungen verdoppeln; if it’s not too much of an effort for you (iro) → wenn es dir nicht zu viel Mühe macht; with an effort → mühsam; with a great effort of will → mit einer gewaltigen Willensanstrengung; come on, make an effort → komm, streng dich an; it’s well worth the effort → die Mühe lohnt sich wirklich

(= campaign) → Aktion f; the famine relief effort → die Hilfsaktion gegen die Hungersnot

(inf) → Unternehmen nt; it was a pretty poor effort → das war eine ziemlich schwache Leistung; it’s not bad for a first effort → das ist nicht schlecht für den Anfang; what did you think of his latest effort? → was halten Sie von seinem jüngsten Unternehmen?; his first effort at making a film → sein erster Versuch, einen Film zu drehen; best film went to a strange Swedish effort → die Auszeichnung für den besten Film ging an ein merkwürdiges schwedisches Machwerk

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

effort

[ˈɛfət] n → sforzo
to make an effort to do sth → sforzarsi di fare qc
to make every effort to do sth → fare il possible per fare qc
he made no effort to be polite → non si è sforzato minimamente di essere gentile
he won a prize for effort → gli è stato dato un premio per l'impegno dimostrato
it's not worth the effort → non vale la pena
that's a good effort (fam) → non è niente male
his latest effort (fam, pej) → la sua ultima fatica

effort

(ˈefət) noun

1. hard work; energy. Learning a foreign language requires effort; The effort of climbing the hill made the old man very tired.

2. a trying hard; a struggle. The government's efforts to improve the economy were unsuccessful; Please make every effort to be punctual.

3. the result of an attempt. Your drawing was a good effort.

ˈeffortless adjective

done without (apparent) effort. The dancer's movements looked effortless.

ˈeffortlessly adverb

effort

→ جُهْد úsilí bestræbelse Anstrengung προσπάθεια esfuerzo vaivannäkö effort napor sforzo 努力 노력 inspanning anstrengelse wysiłek esforço усилие ansträngning ความพยายาม çaba nỗ lực 努力

ef·fort

n. esfuerzo, empeño;

to make every ___ to → hacer todo lo posible por.

effort

n esfuerzo