intr.v. toiled, toil·ing, toils 1. To labor continuously; work strenuously. 2. To proceed with difficulty: "The old woman ... proceeded to toil up the narrow staircase before us" (James Joyce). n. 1. Exhausting labor or effort. See Synonyms at work. 2. Archaic Strife; contention. [Middle English toilen, from Anglo-Norman toiler, to stir about, from Latin tudiculāre, from tudicula, a machine for bruising olives, diminutive of tudes, hammer.] toiler n. |
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