effort
3 ENTRIES FOUND:
plural
efforts
plural
efforts
Britannica Dictionary definition of EFFORT
1
:
work done by the mind or body
:
energy used to do something
[noncount]
-
He put a lot of effort into finishing the project on time.
-
It wasn't easy, but it was worth the effort.
-
We need to expend more/extra effort.
-
The job will require/take a great deal of time and effort.
-
a lack of effort
-
She seems to do everything without effort. [=effortlessly; very easily]
[count]
-
Our success is due to the combined/concerted efforts of many people.
-
Her efforts were rewarded with a new contract.
-
He lost the campaign despite the best efforts of his supporters.
◊ If you get an A for effort or an E for effort or (Brit) full marks for effort, you are given credit for working hard to do something, even though the result of the work was not successful.
-
His novel's surprise ending is not really convincing, but we'll give him an A for effort.
2
[count]
:
a serious attempt to do something
— often followed by to + verb
-
Even though they didn't win, the team made a good/valiant effort.
-
a determined/desperate effort
-
a last-ditch effort
-
Her early efforts at writing a novel were awkward.
-
The project is a team effort. [=is being done by a group of people]
-
Despite my best efforts, I never found out who she was.
-
He made no effort to hide his feelings. [=he showed his feelings openly]
-
In an effort to avoid further delays, the delivery process has been simplified.
-
I had to make a conscious/deliberate effort not to laugh.
-
The school makes every effort [=the school does all that it can] to help new students become adjusted to college life.
3
[count]
:
something produced by work
-
This painting was one of my best efforts.
-
It wasn't bad for a first effort.
4
[singular]
:
something that is hard to do
-
I was so tired this morning that it was an effort (for me) to get out of bed.
5
[noncount]
:
all that is being done to achieve a particular goal
-
He wanted to contribute in some way to the war effort. [=to the effort to win the war]
