Phrase guide

make an effort

verb · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To try; to work towards a goal.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

33 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 力求 (lìqiú) — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Chinese Mandarin: 努力 (nǔlì) — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Chinese Mandarin: 竭力 (jiélì) — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Esperanto: peni — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Esperanto: klopodi — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Finnish: ponnistella — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Finnish: skarpata — to try; to work towards a goal
  • French: faire un effort — to try; to work towards a goal
  • German: sich anstrengen — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Hebrew: הִתְאַמֵּץ (hit'amétz) — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Hebrew: הִשְׁתַּדֵּל (hishtadél) — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Italian: fare uno sforzo — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Italian: sforzarsi — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Japanese: 努力する (doryoku suru) — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Latin: nītor — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Norwegian Bokmål: anstrenge seg — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Norwegian Bokmål: ta i — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Norwegian Bokmål: gjøre sitt beste — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Norwegian Bokmål: stå på — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: leggja seg i selen — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Polish: starać się — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Polish: postarać się — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Quechua: kallpay — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Russian: пыта́ться (pytátʹsja) — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Russian: попыта́ться (popytátʹsja) — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Russian: стара́ться (starátʹsja) — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Russian: постара́ться (postarátʹsja) — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Russian: де́лать уси́лие (délatʹ usílije) — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Russian: сде́лать уси́лие (sdélatʹ usílije) — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Russian: прилага́ть уси́лие (prilagátʹ usílije) — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Russian: приложи́ть уси́лие (priložítʹ usílije) — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Yoruba: sapá — to try; to work towards a goal
  • Yoruba: gbìyànjú — to try; to work towards a goal