1. painful or laborious effort; hard work
Usage: formal
2. the pains of childbirth
Usage: archaic; literary

1. to work hard; to struggle with great effort
Usage: formal

Examples

• The students went through great travail to complete their research project.
• After years of travail, the scientist finally made her breakthrough discovery.
• The novel describes the travail of immigrants seeking a better life.
• She travailed for months to master the difficult piano piece.
• The team travailed through countless revisions of their proposal.
• His travail in learning the language eventually paid off.