moil

[ moil ]

verb (used without object)

1. to work hard; drudge.
2. to whirl or churn ceaselessly; twist; eddy.

verb (used with object)

1. Archaic. to wet or smear.

noun

1. hard work or drudgery.
2. confusion, turmoil, or trouble.
3. Glassmaking. a superfluous piece of glass formed during blowing and removed in the finishing operation.
4. Mining. a short hand tool with a polygonal point, used for breaking or prying out rock.

moil

/ mɔɪl /

verb

1. to moisten or soil or become moist, soiled, etc
2. intr to toil or drudge (esp in the phrase toil and moil )

noun

1. toil; drudgery
2. confusion; turmoil

Derived Forms

• ˈmoiler, noun

Other Words From

• moiler noun
• moiling·ly adverb
• un·moiled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of moil¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English mollen, mulllen, “to make or get wet and muddy,” from Middle French moillier, from unrecorded Vulgar Latin molliāre, derivative of Latin mollis “soft”

Word History and Origins

Origin of moil¹

C14 (to moisten; later: to work hard in unpleasantly wet conditions) from Old French moillier, ultimately from Latin mollis soft

Example Sentences

He was trained in the Jewish religious practice of brit milah — a profession generally spelled “mohel” in English and pronounced “moil.”

From New York Times

When animal droppings and garbage and spoiled straw are piled up in a great heap, the rotting and moiling give forth heat.

From Literature

Projects to moil over in the nursing home.

From The New Yorker

In the case of election meddling, however, this country just joined a moiling crowd of the interfered with — and largely by us.

From Salon

In reality, much of that moil is a matter of perception.

From Salon