Library / English Dictionary

PAINS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

An effortful attempt to attain a goal

Synonyms:

nisus; pains; strain; striving

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("pains" is a kind of...):

attempt; effort; endeavor; endeavour; try (earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pains"):

jehad; jihad (a holy struggle or striving by a Muslim for a moral or spiritual or political goal)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Present simple (third person singular) of the verb pain

Credits

 Context examples: 

Functional Assessment of Multiple Sclerosis (FAMS) Symptoms: I am bothered by muscle pains.

(FAMS - Bothered by Muscle Pains, NCI Thesaurus)

Of course they took pains not to light on his head and get the pins in their feet.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

Certainly he took no pains to hide his thoughts, and certainly I read them like print.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

“Be assured, sir,” said he, “no pains or exertions on my part shall be spared to discover the villain.”

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

They seem very comfortable as they are, and if she were to take any pains to marry him, she would probably repent it.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

Pain relievers are medicines that reduce or relieve headaches, sore muscles, arthritis, or other aches and pains.

(Pain Relievers, NIH)

For HIM she felt much compassion;—for Lucy very little—and it cost her some pains to procure that little;—for the rest of the party none at all.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

I desire you to spare no expense and no pains to get at the truth.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

See that no pains be spared.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I have a French feather-bed there, which I have been at pains to keep these years back.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)