Skip to content
HOW TO PRONOUNCE

effort

/ˈɛf.ɚt/

Press play to hear how to pronounce effort.

American Pronunciation Guide · 0:47
Watch on YouTube ↗

What does effort mean?

noun

  1. The work involved in performing an activity; exertion.
  2. An endeavor.
  3. A force acting on a body in the direction of its motion.
More meanings (2)

verb

  1. To make an effort.
  2. (obsolete) To strengthen, fortify or stimulate

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˈɛf.ɚt/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

After a long spell of effort, I succeeded in getting my cart righted, my oxen disentangled, and again yoked to the cart.
Frederick DouglassNarrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American SlaveProject Gutenberg ebook #23
Shakespeare pronounced “Venus and Adonis” “the first heir of his invention,” apparently implying that it was his first effort at literary composition.
Mark TwainWhat Is Man? and Other EssaysProject Gutenberg ebook #70
More book examples (3)
Whatever she did, too, was done without conscious effort, and with frequent outbreaks of song, which were exceedingly pleasant to the ear.
Nathaniel HawthorneThe House of the Seven GablesProject Gutenberg ebook #77
There was a long sustained and supreme effort on the ape-man’s part—and the vertebrae of Sabor’s neck parted with a sharp snap.
Edgar Rice BurroughsTarzan of the ApesProject Gutenberg ebook #78
Freckles' brow wrinkled in his effort to think deeply and strongly, but from every swaying wild rose the Angel beckoned to him.
Gene Stratton-PorterFrecklesProject Gutenberg ebook #111