# endeavor

Pronunciation: US say "en-DEV-ur" /ɛnˈdɛv.ɚ/; UK say "in-DEV-uh" /ɪnˈdɛv.ə/

## Noun

1. A sincere attempt or determined effort toward a specific goal; sustained, purposeful activity.
   - Simple: A serious try to reach a goal, done with steady effort over time.
   - _The expedition was a bold endeavor that took years of planning._
   - _Scientific endeavor depends on patience and careful observation._

## Verb

2. To make a strenuous attempt to do something, applying real effort toward accomplishing it.
   - Simple: To try hard to do something, putting real effort into it.
   - _The team endeavors to meet each deadline despite limited resources._
   - _Scientists endeavor to explain phenomena that puzzle them._
3. To work in a deliberate, purposeful way, with one's effort directed toward a goal.
   - Simple: To work hard in a steady, focused way toward a clear goal.
   - _Researchers in small labs often endeavor for years in obscurity before the public hears of their progress._
   - _He endeavors with steady focus, treating each task as important._

## Verb

4. To exert oneself; to put forth strenuous physical or mental effort. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To push yourself hard and make a big physical or mental effort.
   - _The crew endeavored against wind and tide for many hours._
   - _Pilgrims would endeavor without rest until they reached the shrine._
5. To attempt something; to make an effort to accomplish a particular thing taken as its object. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To try to do or achieve a particular task or thing.
   - _He endeavored the climb that had defeated many before him._
   - _The guild would endeavor great works that lesser men avoided._

## Origin

The verb comes from Middle English endeveren ("to make an effort"), and the noun from endevour, based on the verb. Endeveren goes back to the phrase (putten) in dever, "(to put oneself) in duty," from in plus dever ("duty"), partly translating the Middle French se mettre en devoir ("to make it one's duty"), from Old French devoir, deveir ("duty").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/endeavor (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).