I. en ‧ deav ‧ our 1 BrE AmE British English , endeavor American English /ɪnˈdevə $ -ər/ verb [intransitive]
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Origin: dever 'duty' (13-17 centuries) , from Old French deveir ]
formal to try very hard
endeavour to do something
We always endeavor to please our customers.
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THESAURUS
▪ try to take action in order to do something that you may not be able to do:
I tried to explain what was wrong.
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He tries hard in class, but he’s finding the work difficult.
▪ attempt to try to do something, especially something difficult. Attempt is more formal than try and is used especially in written English:
Any prisoner who attempts to escape will be shot.
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He was attempting to climb one of the world’s highest mountains.
▪ do your best to try as hard as you can to do something:
We will do our best to help them.
▪ make an effort to do something to try to do something, when you find this difficult:
It is worth making an effort to master these skills.
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She made a big effort to be nice to him.
▪ struggle to try very hard to do something that is very difficult, especially for a long time:
She’s still struggling to give up smoking.
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Many of these families are struggling to survive.
▪ strive formal to try very hard to achieve something:
The company must constantly strive for greater efficiency.
▪ endeavour British English , endeavor American English /ɪnˈdevə $ -ər/ formal to try hard to do something:
Each employee shall endeavour to provide customers with the best service possible.
▪ have a go/try informal to try to do something, especially when you are not sure that you will succeed:
I’m not very good at fixing taps, but I’ll have a go.
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Do you want to have another try?
▪ see if you can do something spoken to try to do something – used when offering to do something, or suggesting that someone should do something:
I’ll see if I can get you a ticket.
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See if you can persuade her to come.
II. endeavour 2 BrE AmE British English , endeavor American English noun
[uncountable and countable] formal an attempt to do something new or difficult
scientific/creative etc endeavour
an outstanding example of human endeavor
endeavour to do something
They made every endeavour to find the two boys.
Despite our best endeavours, we couldn’t start the car.