moil

UK: /mɔɪl/ US: (moil)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

moil  (moil), v.i. 

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

v.t. 

3. [Archaic.] to wet or smear.

n. 

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

• Vulgar Latin *molliāre, derivative of Latin mollis soft
• Middle French moillier
• Middle English moillen to make or get wet and muddy 1350–1400

moil′er, n. 
moil′ing•ly, adv. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

moil / mɔɪl/ verb

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

noun

1. toil; drudgery
2. confusion; turmoil

Etymology: 14th Century (to moisten; later: to work hard in unpleasantly wet conditions) from Old French moillier, ultimately from Latin mollis soft

ˈmoiler noun