English Dictionary

PAINS

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IPA (US): 

 Dictionary entry overview: What does pains mean? 

PAINS (noun)
  The noun PAINS has 1 sense:

1. an effortful attempt to attain a goalplay

  Familiarity information: PAINS used as a noun is very rare.


 Dictionary entry details 


PAINS (noun)


Sense 1

Meaning:

An effortful attempt to attain a goal

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

nisus; pains; strain; striving

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)


 Context examples 


In the meantime spare no pains, Mr. Detective!

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Ah, miss, it is a pity you didn’t let me know what you were planning, for I would have told you that your pains were wasted.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

We took no pains to hide it.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

They reduce aches and pains, fight infections, and control problems such as high blood pressure or diabetes.

(Drug Reactions, NIH)

They may have chest pains or nightmares.

(Anxiety, NIH: National Institute of Mental Health)

I had been struggling with tears for some time: I had taken great pains to repress them, because I knew he would not like to see me weep.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

My face is ghastly pale, and my throat pains me.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

It pains me to offend you.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

It pains me to hear you speak of it in so unappreciative a fashion.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I can't argue about it, I only know that it's the way of the world, and people who set themselves against it only get laughed at for their pains.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)



 Learn English with... Proverbs 
"Make hay while the sun shines." (English proverb)

"Force, no matter how concealed, begets resistance." (Native American proverb, Lakota)

"The greatest poorness is the lack of brains." (Arabic proverb)

"An understanding person needs only half a word." (Dutch proverb)



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