overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

effort.

The work involved in performing an activity; exertion.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈɛf.ət/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɛf.ɚt/General-American/ˈef.ət/Australia, New-Zealand/ˈɛfɔrt/
  1. The work involved in performing an activity; exertion.

    make an effort
    take a lot of effort
  2. An endeavor.

    Although he didn't win any medals, Johnson's effort at the Olympics won over many fans.
  3. A force acting on a body in the direction of its motion.

Where this word comes from

From Middle French effort, from Old French esfort, deverbal of esforcier (“to force, exert”), from Vulgar Latin *exfortiō, from Latin ex + fortis (“strong”). Compare typologically Bulgarian усилие (usilie), Czech úsilí, Polish wysiłek, Russian уси́лие (usílije) (< Proto-Slavic *sila).

verb/ˈɛf.ət/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɛf.ɚt/General-American/ˈef.ət/Australia, New-Zealand/ˈɛfɔrt/
  1. To make an effort.

    intransitive · uncommon
  2. To strengthen, fortify or stimulate

    obsolete · transitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle French effort, from Old French esfort, deverbal of esforcier (“to force, exert”), from Vulgar Latin *exfortiō, from Latin ex + fortis (“strong”). Compare typologically Bulgarian усилие (usilie), Czech úsilí, Polish wysiłek, Russian уси́лие (usílije) (< Proto-Slavic *sila).

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

effort has 6 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

effort studioeffort workshello, effort

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.