What does effort mean?

Definitions for effort
ˈɛf ərtef·fort

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word effort.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. attempt, effort, endeavor, endeavour, trynoun

    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"

  2. effort, elbow grease, exertion, travail, sweatnoun

    use of physical or mental energy; hard work

    "he got an A for effort"; "they managed only with great exertion"

  3. feat, effort, exploitnoun

    a notable achievement

    "he performed a great feat"; "the book was her finest effort"

  4. campaign, cause, crusade, drive, movement, effortnoun

    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"

Wiktionary

  1. effortnoun

    The amount of work involved in performing an activity; exertion.

    It took a lot of effort to find a decent-sized, fully-furnished apartment withing walking distance of the office.

  2. effortnoun

    An endeavour.

    Although he didn't win any medals, Johnson's effort at the Olympics won over many fans.

  3. effortverb

    To make an effort.

  4. effortverb

    To stimulate.

    He efforted his spirits. uE000127628uE001 Fuller.

  5. Etymology: From effort, from esfort, deverbal noun from esforcier, from *exfortiare, from ex + fortis

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Effortnoun

    Struggle; laborious endeavour.

    Etymology: effort, French.

    If, after having gained victories, we had made the same efforts as if we had lost them, France could not have withstood us. Joseph Addison, on the State of the War.

    Though the same sun, with all diffusive rays,
    Blush in the rose, and in the diamond blaze,
    We prize the stronger effort of his pow’r,
    And always set the gem above the flow’r. Alexander Pope, Epist. 1.

ChatGPT

  1. effort

    Effort refers to the physical or mental energy that is exerted to achieve something. It often involves hard work, determination, or striving towards a particular goal or task. It can also mean the force applied to perform a particular action or move an object.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Effortnoun

    an exertion of strength or power, whether physical or mental, in performing an act or aiming at an object; more or less strenuous endeavor; struggle directed to the accomplishment of an object; as, an effort to scale a wall

  2. Effortnoun

    a force acting on a body in the direction of its motion

  3. Effortverb

    to stimulate

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Effort

    ef′fort, n. a putting forth of strength: attempt: struggle.—adj. Ef′fortless, making no effort: passive. [Fr.,—L. ex, out, fortis, strong.]

Editors Contribution

  1. effort

    To use energy for a specific purpose.

    She always made a fantastic effort and focused, she was always achieving remarkable things and always acknowledged the team who supported her.


    Submitted by MaryC on February 12, 2020  

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'effort' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1327

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'effort' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1840

  3. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'effort' in Nouns Frequency: #320

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

How to pronounce effort?

How to say effort in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of effort in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of effort in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of effort in a Sentence

  1. Mira Rapp-Hooper:

    I do think surface to air missiles are a considerable development, if they have been deployed they are probably China's effort to signal a response to freedom-of navigation operations, but I don't think it is a totally unprecedented deployment.

  2. Paul Ryan:

    Senators have made clear that this is an effort to keep the process alive, not to make law. If moving forward requires a conference committee, that is something the House is willing to do.

  3. Samuel Johnson:

    What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure.

  4. David Cicilline:

    There will be, I think, substantial evidence that really demonstrates the coordination and the planning and the effort, despite the fact that they understood that Donald Trump lost the election and even once the insurrection began and the violence began, there were ongoing efforts to persuade the former President to stop the violence and call on folks to go home, and Donald Trump refused to do it.

  5. Claude M. Bristol:

    The person with a fixed goal, a clear picture of his desire, or an ideal always before him, causes it, through repetition, to be buried deeply in his subconscious mind and is thus enabled, thanks to its generative and sustaining power, to realize his goal in a minimum of time and with a minimum of physical effort. Just pursue the thought unceasingly. Step by step you will achieve realization, for all your faculties and powers become directed to that end.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

effort#1#1992#10000

Translations for effort

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

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"effort." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 23 Feb. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/effort>.

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    transmit (a signal) for setting off an appropriate response, as in telecommunication
    A accompany
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    C interrogate
    D embark

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