(~s)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
If you make an ~ to do something, you try very hard to do it.
He made no ~ to hide his disappointment...
Finding a cure requires considerable time and ~.
...his ~s to reform Italian research...
Despite the ~s of the United Nations, the problem of drug traffic continues to grow...
But a concerted ~ has begun to improve the quality of the urban air.
N-VAR: oft N to-inf
2.
If you say that someone did something with ~ or with an ~, you mean it was difficult for them to do. (WRITTEN)
She took a deep breath and sat up slowly and with great ~...
With an ~ she contained her irritation.
= difficulty
N-UNCOUNT: usu with N, also a N
3.
An ~ is a particular series of activities that is organized by a group of people in order to achieve something.
...a famine relief ~ in Angola.
N-COUNT: usu supp N
4.
If you say that something is an ~, you mean that an unusual amount of physical or mental energy is needed to do it.
Even carrying the camcorder while hiking in the forest was an ~.
= strain, struggle
N-SING: a N
5.
If you make the ~ to do something, you do it, even though you need extra energy to do it or you do not really want to.
I don’t get lonely now because I make the ~ to see people.
PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR to-inf