as in effort
the active use of energy in producing a result
with a little polish and a lot of elbow grease, I was able to make the old silver teapot shine again
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Examples of elbow grease in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Simplify your cleaning routine to create a clean, happy, and healthy home — minus the elbow grease.
—
Anna Kasper, Rolling Stone, 25 June 2024
And President Barack Obama and I certainly relied on old-fashioned diplomatic elbow grease to hammer out a last-minute accord at the Copenhagen conference on climate change last December.
—Hillary Rodham Clinton, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2010
Instead, invest in a handheld vacuum cleaner to get the job done faster with less elbow grease.
—Clara McMahon, Peoplemag, 24 May 2024
If the league won’t do it, somebody in burgundy and blue needs to apply a little elbow grease.
—Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 10 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for elbow grease 
Anna Kasper, Rolling Stone, 25 June 2024
And President Barack Obama and I certainly relied on old-fashioned diplomatic elbow grease to hammer out a last-minute accord at the Copenhagen conference on climate change last December.
—Hillary Rodham Clinton, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2010
Instead, invest in a handheld vacuum cleaner to get the job done faster with less elbow grease.
—Clara McMahon, Peoplemag, 24 May 2024
If the league won’t do it, somebody in burgundy and blue needs to apply a little elbow grease.
—Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 10 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for elbow grease
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'elbow grease.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Thesaurus Entries Near elbow grease
Cite this Entry
“Elbow grease.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elbow%20grease. Accessed 19 Aug. 2024.
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