What does effort mean?

effort means "earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something". That is the primary sense; the word has 4 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in effort?

effort has 2 syllables: ef-fort. The stress falls on "ef". In IPA it is /ˈɛfɚt/.

What is another word for effort?

Close synonyms include attempt, endeavor, endeavour, try, elbow grease. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is effort a common word?

effort is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

effort — meaning, pronunciation and 4 definitions

noun

4 sensesA person, place, thing, quality or idea.

1.
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”
Synonymsattempt endeavor endeavour try
Broaderactivity
Narrowerbatting best worst bid crack essay foray contribution liberation mug's game
2.
use of physical or mental energy; hard work
“he got an A for effort”
“they managed only with great exertion”
Synonymselbow grease exertion travail sweat
Broaderlabor
Narrowerstruggle trouble least effort strain exercise pull application overkill supererogation overexertion
3.
a notable achievement
“he performed a great feat”
“the book was her finest effort”
Synonymsfeat exploit
Broaderaccomplishment
Narrowerderring-do hit rally stunt tour de force
4.
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”
Synonymscampaign cause crusade drive movement
Broaderventure
Narroweradvertising campaign anti-war movement charm campaign consumerism campaigning fund-raising campaign feminist movement gay liberation movement lost cause reform

Other forms of effort

plural: efforts·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about effort

What does effort mean?: effort means "earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something". That is the primary sense; the word has 4 in total, listed in full on this page.
How many syllables are in effort?: effort has 2 syllables: ef-fort. The stress falls on "ef". In IPA it is /ˈɛfɚt/.
What is another word for effort?: Close synonyms include attempt, endeavor, endeavour, try, elbow grease. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.
Is effort a common word?: effort is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for effort come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.

noun

4 sensesA person, place, thing, quality or idea.

1.
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”
Synonymsattempt endeavor endeavour try
Broaderactivity
Narrowerbatting best worst bid crack essay foray contribution liberation mug's game
2.
use of physical or mental energy; hard work
“he got an A for effort”
“they managed only with great exertion”
Synonymselbow grease exertion travail sweat
Broaderlabor
Narrowerstruggle trouble least effort strain exercise pull application overkill supererogation overexertion
3.
a notable achievement
“he performed a great feat”
“the book was her finest effort”
Synonymsfeat exploit
Broaderaccomplishment
Narrowerderring-do hit rally stunt tour de force
4.
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”
Synonymscampaign cause crusade drive movement
Broaderventure
Narroweradvertising campaign anti-war movement charm campaign consumerism campaigning fund-raising campaign feminist movement gay liberation movement lost cause reform

Other forms of effort

plural: efforts·

Questions about effort

What does effort mean?: effort means "earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something". That is the primary sense; the word has 4 in total, listed in full on this page.
How many syllables are in effort?: effort has 2 syllables: ef-fort. The stress falls on "ef". In IPA it is /ˈɛfɚt/.
What is another word for effort?: Close synonyms include attempt, endeavor, endeavour, try, elbow grease. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.
Is effort a common word?: effort is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

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effort

noun

Other forms of effort

Questions about effort

Tools

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PDF & writing

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Health & fitness

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effort

noun

Other forms of effort

Questions about effort