TRAVAIL
Dictionary entry overview: What does travail mean?
• TRAVAIL (noun)
The noun TRAVAIL has 2 senses:
1. concluding state of pregnancy; from the onset of labor to the birth of a child
2. use of physical or mental energy; hard work
Familiarity information: TRAVAIL used as a noun is rare.
• TRAVAIL (verb)
The verb TRAVAIL has 1 sense:
1. work hard
Familiarity information: TRAVAIL used as a verb is very rare.
Dictionary entry details
• TRAVAIL (noun)
Meaning:
Concluding state of pregnancy; from the onset of labor to the birth of a child
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Synonyms:
travail; parturiency; lying-in; confinement; childbed; labour; labor
Context example:
she was in labor for six hours
Hypernyms ("travail" is a kind of...):
birth; birthing; giving birth; parturition (the process of giving birth)
Meronyms (parts of "travail"):
uterine contraction (a rhythmic tightening in labor of the upper uterine musculature that contracts the size of the uterus and pushes the fetus toward the birth canal)
effacement (shortening of the uterine cervix and thinning of its walls as it is dilated during labor)
asynclitism; obliquity (the presentation during labor of the head of the fetus at an abnormal angle)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "travail"):
premature labor; premature labour (labor beginning prior to the 37th week of gestation)
Holonyms ("travail" is a part of...):
gestation; maternity; pregnancy (the state of being pregnant; the period from conception to birth when a woman carries a developing fetus in her uterus)
Meaning:
Use of physical or mental energy; hard work
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Synonyms:
elbow grease; exertion; effort; travail; sweat
Context examples:
he got an A for effort / they managed only with great exertion
Hypernyms ("travail" is a kind of...):
labor; labour; toil (productive work (especially physical work done for wages))
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "travail"):
struggle (strenuous effort)
detrition; friction; rubbing (effort expended in moving one object over another with pressure)
overexertion (excessive exertion; so much exertion that discomfort or injury results)
supererogation (an effort above and beyond the call of duty)
overkill (any effort that seems to go farther than would be necessary to achieve its goal)
application; diligence (a diligent effort)
pull (a sustained effort)
exercise; exercising; physical exercise; physical exertion; workout (the activity of exerting your muscles in various ways to keep fit)
strain; straining (an intense or violent exertion)
least effort; least resistance (the least effortful way to do something)
difficulty; trouble (an effort that is inconvenient)
• TRAVAIL (verb)
Meaning:
Work hard
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Synonyms:
toil; moil; labour; travail; drudge; labor; fag; dig; grind
Context examples:
She was digging away at her math homework / Lexicographers drudge all day long
Hypernyms (to "travail" is one way to...):
do work; work (be employed)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP
