noun
1 physical/mental energy needed to do sth
ADJECTIVE
▪ considerable
▪ hard
▪
It took a whole day of hard ~ to knock down the wall.
▪ constant , sustained
▪ extra
▪ minimal
▪
an outfit which enables you to look good with minimal ~
▪ wasted
▪ physical
▪ intellectual , mental
… OF EFFORT
▪ amount
▪
the amount of ~ required
VERB + EFFORT
▪ demand , need , require , take
▪
It takes constant ~ to become fluent in a language.
▪ devote , exert , expend , invest , put in
▪
All the team members have put in a great deal of ~.
▪ waste
▪ spare no
▪
No ~ has been spared to make this hotel a welcoming, comfortable place.
▪ be worth
▪
The walk is difficult but well worth the ~.
EFFORT + VERB
▪ go into
▪
A lot of ~ went into making the costumes.
PREPOSITION
▪ with ~ , without ~
▪
This can be done quickly and with very little ~.
PHRASES
▪ a great deal of ~
▪ time and ~
▪
Senior leaders are investing time and ~ in studying the issue.
▪
The staff spent considerable time and ~ developing a national policy.
2 attempt to do sth
ADJECTIVE
▪ ambitious , big , enormous , great , Herculean , huge , major , massive , remarkable , special , tremendous
▪
I can see you have made a big ~ to clean up.
▪ brave , heroic , superhuman , valiant
▪ all-out , concentrated , determined , strenuous , tireless
▪ painstaking
▪ desperate , frantic
▪
their frantic ~s to put out the fire
▪ final , last , last-ditch
▪
The UN General Secretary flew in in a last-ditch ~ to save the talks.
▪ continuing , ongoing , sustained
▪
the continuing ~ to find the missing girls
▪ renewed
▪ pioneering
▪
pioneering ~s to restructure the industry
▪ genuine , good-faith ( AmE ), positive , real , serious , sincere
▪
Districts have not made a good-faith ~ to implement public school choice.
▪ feeble , half-hearted
▪
She made a feeble ~ to smile, then started crying again.
▪ successful
▪ worthwhile
▪ failed , fruitless , futile , unsuccessful , vain
▪ misguided
▪ collaborative , collective , combined , concerted , cooperative , coordinated , joint , team
▪
Students, teachers and families got together in a team ~ to decorate the school.
▪ international
▪ conscious , deliberate
▪
I have to make a conscious ~ to be polite so early in the morning.
▪ voluntary
▪
The museum relies on the voluntary ~s of enthusiasts.
▪ diplomatic
▪
Diplomatic ~s to end the crisis failed.
▪ grass-roots
▪
a grass-roots ~ by workers to transform their country
▪ get-out-the-vote ( AmE )
▪
The Democratic get-out-the-vote ~ placed heavy emphasis on the youth vote.
▪ fund-raising , marketing , outreach ( esp. AmE ), recruitment
▪ humanitarian , recovery , relief , rescue
▪ anti-terrorism , counterterrorism
▪ clean-up , conservation , rebuilding , reconstruction , restoration
VERB + EFFORT
▪ make
▪ initiate , launch
▪
They launched an AIDS education ~.
▪ mount , undertake
▪
The report outlines the ~s undertaken by the industry.
▪ fund
▪ accelerate , expand , increase , intensify , redouble , renew , step up
▪
The police have renewed their ~s to find the murderer.
▪ continue
▪ channel , concentrate , focus
▪
The police tried to channel their ~s into searching the forest.
▪ redirect , refocus
▪ coordinate , orchestrate , organize
▪ combine , pool
▪
Governments are pooling their ~s to stem international terrorism.
▪ duplicate
▪
We tried to ensure that ~s were not duplicated.
▪ lead , spearhead
▪
He spearheaded ~s to raise money for the school.
▪ target
▪
We're targeting our ~s at making our website appealing to younger people.
▪ fail in
▪
He failed in his ~s to give up smoking.
▪ resist
▪
The wound resisted all my ~s to stop it from bleeding.
▪ abandon
▪ complicate
▪ derail , frustrate , hamper , hinder , impede , sabotage , stymie ( informal , esp. AmE ), thwart , undermine
▪
Critics said the plan would undermine ~s to address the current crisis.
▪ be rewarded for , reward
▪
Her ~s were rewarded when she won an Oscar.
▪ applaud , praise
▪
The gallery owner applauded the ~s of firefighters to save the exhibits.
▪ appreciate
▪
We all appreciate your ~s.
▪ oppose , support
EFFORT + VERB
▪ come to nothing , fail , fall flat , fall short
▪ pay off , succeed , work
▪ culminate in sth , produce sth , result in sth
▪ be aimed at sth , be targeted at sth , focus on sth
▪
educational ~s targeted at children from ethnic minorities
▪ earn sb sth
▪
Her ~s earned her a Nobel Prize.
PREPOSITION
▪ in an/your ~
▪
The club has changed the rules in an ~ to make them fairer.
▪ through sb's ~
▪
Through their ~s, enough money was raised to buy the equipment.
PHRASES
▪ your best ~s
▪
Despite our best ~s, we didn't manage to win the game.
▪ a reward for your ~s
▪
Second prize was a fair reward for his ~s.
▪ make every ~
▪
We are making every ~ to obtain the release of the hostages.