Making Great Efforts: English Vocabulary List

to persistently and relentlessly bother, tease, or annoy someone, often in a playful or mocking manner

"He breaks my stones."

"Working in that stressful job for twenty years would break anyone's stones eventually."

to do something until the very late hours of the night

"I burned the midnight oil to study."

"The students burned the midnight oil to prepare for their final exams the next day."

to put in an extraordinary amount of effort to accomplish something, often with the intention of pleasing someone

"She fell over backward to please them."

"The manager fell over backward to help his team finish the project on time."

to be very determined and do whatever it takes to achieve a goal

"I would give my eye teeth for that job."

"I would give my eye teeth to have a vacation on a beautiful tropical beach right now."

to complete a task or activity with thoroughness, efficiency, and speed, often suggesting a focused and diligent approach

"They went to town."

"We need to go to town on this project if we want to finish it by Friday."

to deliberately do something, giving special attention or emphasis to it

"He makes a point of exercising."

"She makes a point of visiting her elderly grandmother every Sunday without fail, no matter how busy her schedule is."

to accomplish something challenging or seemingly impossible through extraordinary effort and determination

"He would move mountains for his children."

"The determined mother would move mountains to ensure her children received a good education."

an intense amount of effort made toward achieving something one desires

"Give a hundred and ten percent."

"The dedicated employee always gives a hundred and ten percent effort in everything he does."

to put a great amount of effort or thought into something particular

"He bent his mind to solving the puzzle."

"The scientist bent his mind to solving the difficult problem for several months."

an extreme amount of effort, dedication, and hard work

"The project required blood, sweat, and tears."

"The successful business was built with blood sweat and tears by the hardworking founder."

a great amount of physical effort or work that is put into something

"It takes a lot of elbow grease to clean the oven."

"Removing the stubborn stain required plenty of elbow grease and a strong cleaning product."

to put in a great deal of effort to accomplish something

"He broke his neck studying."

"She broke her neck trying to finish the project before the deadline, working late every night."

to go beyond established limits or norms, often in a creative or daring way

"The designer likes to push the envelope."

"The innovative designer pushes the envelope with his unusual and creative fashion designs."

to manage to do something that is extremely difficult or challenging

"They broke the beast's back."

"After months of hard work, the engineers finally broke the back of the beast and completed the project."

to put in an extreme amount of effort into doing something

"She broke one's stones."

"He broke one's stones studying for the difficult entrance examination for hours every day."

to complete a task or activity with thoroughness, efficiency, and speed, often suggesting a focused and diligent approach

"Let's go to town!"

"She decided to go to town on the project, ensuring every detail was meticulously handled."