effort
[noun]
Synonyms:
- exertion, application, elbow grease (facetious), endeavour, energy, pains, struggle, toil, trouble, work
- attempt, endeavour, essay, go (informal), shot (informal), stab (informal), try

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Antonyms: ease
Contrasted words: adroitness, facility, smoothness, do-nothingness, inaction, indolence, inertia, lackadaisicalness, languor, laziness
Related Idioms: sweat of one's brow
Related Words: labor, toil, travail, work, energy, force, might, power, puissance, attempt, endeavor, essay

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

ef‧fort S1 W1 /ˈefət $ ˈefərt/ noun
[Word Family: noun: effort; adverb: effortlessly; adjective: effortless]
[Date: 1400-1500; Language: Old French; Origin: esfort, from esforcier 'to force']

1. PHYSICAL/MENTAL ENERGY [uncountable] the physical or mental energy that is needed to do something:
Lou lifted the box easily, without using much effort.
Frank put a lot of effort into the party.
Learning to speak another language takes effort.

2. ATTEMPT [uncountable and countable] an attempt to do something, especially when this involves a lot of hard work or determination:
Please make an effort to be polite.
sb’s effort(s) to do something
Tom’s efforts to stop smoking haven’t been very successful.
Church leaders are prepared to meet the terrorists in an effort to (=in order to try to) find peace.
effort at
Further efforts at negotiation have broken down.
through sb’s efforts (=because of their efforts)
The money was raised largely through the efforts of parents.
despite sb’s efforts
Despite all our efforts we lost the game 1–0.

3. be an effort to be difficult or painful to do:
I was so weak that even standing up was an effort.

4. PARTICULAR SITUATION [countable] work that people do to achieve something in a particular situation:
the fundraising effort
the international relief effort
Everyone did what they could to support the war effort.

5. good/bad/poor etc effort something that has been done well, badly etc:
Not a bad effort for a beginner!

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

effort
noun
I. 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

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

effort
II. 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.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

effort

make an effort (=try)
She made an effort to change the subject of the conversation.
put effort into (doing) something (=try hard to do something)
Let’s try again, only put more effort into it this time.
take the effort out of something (=make it easy)
An automatic car takes the effort out of driving.
something takes effort (also it takes effort to do something) (=you have to try hard)
It takes a sustained effort to quit smoking.
something requires/involves effort formal (=it takes effort)
Trying to get my mother to change her mind requires considerable effort.
successful
Their efforts were successful, and they won the contract.
unsuccessful
Efforts to save the hospital from closure have been unsuccessful.
futile (=having no chance of succeeding, and therefore not worth doing)
Doctors knew that any effort to save his life would be futile.
a big/great effort
The government has made a big effort to tackle the problem of poverty.
considerable effort (=a lot of effort)
The police put considerable effort into finding his car.
a supreme/tremendous effort (=a very big effort)
It was only with a supreme effort that Roger controlled his temper.
a special effort (=one that you do not normally make)
I made a special effort to be nice to the children.
a constant effort (=one that never stops)
Walking was a constant effort.
a sustained effort (=one that you continue making for a long time)
It will take a sustained effort over the next 5 years to achieve our objectives.
a conscious/deliberate effort (=one that you concentrate on in order to achieve something)
He made a conscious effort to become a better person.
a determined effort (=showing a lot of determination)
She had made a determined effort to lose weight.
a desperate effort (=one you make when you are in a very bad situation)
The fox made a desperate effort to get away.
a concerted effort (=involving a lot of different actions, or a lot of people working together)
It will take a concerted effort to change the culture of binge-drinking in the country.
a joint/team effort (=involving a group or team of people)
We had many fine individual performances, but the win was a real team effort.
a collaborative/cooperative effort formal (=with different people or groups working together)
This was a collaborative effort involving the three largest energy companies.
physical/mental effort
He struggled back from two sets down to win the match, showing great physical and mental effort.
a final/last-ditch effort (=a last effort, when you want very much to achieve something)
Sam took a deep breath and prepared herself for one final effort.
make the effort (=do something that requires some effort)
I felt too tired to go to a party, but decided to make the effort.
make every effort to do something (=try very hard)
I made every effort to see their point of view.
make no effort to do something (=not try at all)
They make no effort to speak the local language.
be (well) worth the effort (=used to say that something is worth doing even though it is hard)
It’s a difficult place to get to, but it's well worth the effort.
an effort of will (=a big effort to do something that you find difficult because of the way you feel)
It took a huge effort of will not to cry.
with effort formal (=trying very hard)
With great effort, he managed to keep quiet.
without effort (=easily, without trying hard)
Her horse jumped the fence without any effort.
a relief effort
The UN is organizing the relief effort to the region affected by the earthquake.
a fund-raising effort
The party is planning a huge fund-raising effort later this year.
the war effort
Taxes were raised to support the war effort.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

effort
noun
1.
BAD: The authorities have put a lot of efforts into making the streets cleaner.
GOOD: The authorities have put a lot of effort into making the streets cleaner.

Usage Note:
When you mean 'the energy or hard work that is needed to do something', use effort (uncountable): 'Digging the tunnel demanded a great deal of effort.'
Compare: 'All our efforts to persuade Wendell to stay have failed.'

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2.
BAD: In my opinion, a holiday is a hopeless effort to relax.
GOOD: In my opinion, a holiday is a hopeless attempt to relax.

Usage Note:
When someone tries to do something, especially without being sure of success, they make an attempt to do it: 'Having failed to reach the summit last October, the climbers are now getting ready to make a second attempt.' 'All attempts to control inflation have failed.'

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3.
BAD: Little effort has been done to solve the problem.
GOOD: Little effort has been made to solve the problem.
BAD: Sometimes I have to do a great effort not to cry.
GOOD: Sometimes I have to make a great effort not to cry.

Usage Note:
make an effort (NOT do ): 'The manager would like to see the whole team making more of an effort.'
DO · HAVE · MAKE · TAKE
Many phrases begin with a very common very such as do, make, have, or take : ‘I felt very nervous about taking the test but, after having a long talk with Mrs Fisher, I decided I would just do my best and try not to make too many silly mistakes .’ These verbs can be combined with some nouns but not with others and since they do not have a clear meaning of their own, choosing the right combination can be a problem. Phrases which tend to cause difficulty are shown below.
HAVE
have a bath (or esp. AmE take ) ‘She’s probably upstairs having a bath.’
Have (your) breakfast ‘We usually have breakfast in the kitchen.’
Have (your) dinner ‘We had dinner and then went for a walk.’
Have a drink ‘I’ll collapse if I don’t have a drink soon.’
Have (an) experience ‘He has no experience of running a large company.’
Have fun ‘You can’t stop people from having fun.’
Have a holiday ‘It’s almost a year since we had a real holiday.’
Have an interview ‘I’ve had six interviews but no one has offered me a job.’
Have a lesson ‘Every morning we have three fifty-minute lessons.’
Have (your) lunch ‘Isn’t it about time we had lunch?’
Have an operation ‘Before I had the operation I could hardly walk.’
Have a party ‘On Saturday we’re having a party.’
Have a picnic ‘If it’s sunny we could have a picnic.’
Have a shower (or esp. AmE take) ‘It only takes me a minute to have a shower.’
TAKE
Take/do an examination ‘Why do we have to take so many tests?’
Take (your) medicine ‘Don’t forget to take your medicine.’
Take a pill ‘He refuses to take sleeping pills.’
Take/do a test ‘The last test I took was a disaster.’
MAKE
Make an effort ‘I had to make a big effort not to laugh.’
Make a journey ‘It was the first journey he’d made all on his own.’
Make a mistake ‘He has made a serious mistake.’
Make a noise ‘How can one small child make so much noise?’
Make progress ‘I made very little progress at the start of the course.’
DO
Do your best ‘Don’t worry, Tim. Just do your best.’
Do (or cause) damage ‘The storm did a lot of damage to the crops.’
Do an exercise ‘Have you done your exercises today?’
Do an experiment ‘To do this experiment, you’ll need two eggs.’
Do (sb) good ‘The holiday has done him a lot of good.’
Do harm ‘A scandal would do his reputation a lot of harm.’
Do your homework ‘Have you done your homework yet?’
Do a job ‘I’ve got one or two jobs to do this evening.’
Do the/some shopping ‘Jake has gone into town to do some shopping.’
Do research ‘We need to do a lot more research.’
Do things ‘We’ve done lots of different things today.’
Do your training ‘Where did you do your training?’
Note also: do something/anything etc: ‘I can’t come now – I’m doing something.’ ‘He hasn’t done anything wrong.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲