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toil 1

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).
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.]

toil′er n.

toil 2

1. often toils Something that binds, snares, or entangles one; an entrapment: caught in the toils of despair.
2. Archaic A net for trapping game.

[French toile, cloth, from Old French teile, from Latin tēla, web; see teks- in Indo-European roots.]
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adj.1.toiling - doing arduous or unpleasant worktoiling - doing arduous or unpleasant work; "drudging peasants"; "the bent backs of laboring slaves picking cotton"; "toiling coal miners in the black deeps"
References in classic literature ?
For two days were they toiling slowly from cliff to cliff, beating at every step a path through the snow for their faltering horses.
Toiling eternally They knock the stone, like tireless shuttles plied Upon a sounding loom.
What is that old Matrona, my old friend, toiling for?
The Portuguese are flying, the Italians toiling. And they'll toil again here.
They came up with the call in separate messages on the eve of May Day and greeted all toiling masses and workers of the world and expressed solidarity with them.
'Why not come and chat with me,' asked the grasshopper, 'instead of toiling and moiling in that way?'
KARACHI -- On International Labour Day, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari paid tributes to the tilling and toiling classes of the country for their contribution and struggle and termed them as the backbone of the nation, state, economy and the society.
These guys work seriously hard, whether it's loading everything from rice to electrical equipment into the boats in the midday sun or toiling in pitch-black, cramped conditions below-deck.
If workaholic conduct is recompensed, it can bring about a fertile setting for workaholism, whereas if toiling is not satisfied with a positive feedback, workaholic conduct will be moderated.
Two first-class games for New South Wales finally has Starc getting back in the red ball groove after a long sting in the coloured clothes while toiling at the SCG is a good lead-up to Adelaide notes Starc.