| verb | strive and make an effort to reach a goal “She tugged for years to make a decent living” |
| verb | work hard “She was digging away at her math homework” |
| verb | undergo the efforts of childbirth |
| adjective | lacking natural ease “a labored style of debating” |
| adjective | requiring or showing effort “heavy breathing” |
| labor | noun | any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted |
| laborer | noun | someone who works with their hands; someone engaged in manual labor |
| labour | noun | productive work (especially physical work done for wages) |
| push | noun | enterprising or ambitious drive |
| drive | noun | a series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward a particular end |
| labourer | noun | someone who works with their hands; someone engaged in manual labor |
| toiler | noun | one who works strenuously |
| toil | noun | productive work (especially physical work done for wages) |
| travail | noun | use of physical or mental energy; hard work |
| grind | noun | an insignificant student who is ridiculed as being affected or boringly studious |
| drudge | noun | a laborer who is obliged to do menial work |
| drudgery | noun | hard monotonous routine work |