Definition of "effort" []

• The use of physical or mental energy to do something; exertion. (noun)
• A difficult exertion of the strength or will: It was an effort to get up. (noun)
• A usually earnest attempt: Make an effort to arrive promptly. (noun)
• Something done or produced through exertion; an achievement: a play that was his finest effort. (noun)
• Physics Force applied against inertia. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "By the _result_ of our effort, or by the _effort itself_?"
• ""The main effort is now being concentrated on the Raba and the Danube," he said."
• "The write-in effort is a grassroots one of thousands of DC voters, so I'm sure there will be different reactions."