toil for

toil for (someone or something)

1. To work continually and very strenuously for the benefit of someone else. I spent the summer toiling for my neighbor in order to save up for a new bike. I decided to start my own business so I wouldn't have to spend another day toiling for anyone else.
2. To work continually and very strenuously in order to accomplish or achieve something. The marginalized group has spent the last 20 years toiling for equality. Congratulations, everyone. We've all toiled long and hard for this day.
3. To work continually and very strenuously in return for something. The new farmhand toils for a place to sleep at night and three meals a day. He won't accept payment of any kind. I'm done toiling for just seven bucks an hour at this lousy restaurant.
See also: toil
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

toil for someone

 
1. to work on behalf of someone or for someone's benefit. I don't mind toiling for her as long as she thanks me. I don't know why I toil for you. You are totally ungrateful.
2. to do someone else's work. I don't know why I should have to toil for you. Do your own work! I won't toil for him. He can do his own work.
See also: toil

toil for something

 
1. to work toward a particular goal or ideal. I am willing to toil for something I believe in. She spent the afternoon toiling for her favorite charity.
2. to work for a certain rate of pay. It's hard to toil for slave's wages. Do you expect me to toil endlessly for such low pay?
See also: toil
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • toil
  • toil for (someone or something)
  • toile
  • toil over
  • toil over (someone or something)
  • have (someone) under (one's) thumb
  • keep (someone) under (one's) thumb
  • gripe to (someone or something)
  • gripe to (someone or something) about (someone or something)
  • struggle with (someone or something)
References in classic literature
Then followed the frugal breakfast, when her commoner toil for the milliner succeeded.
Still Adrienne thought herself the obliged party, in times as critical as those which then hung over France, in being permitted to toil for a sum that would barely supply a grisette, accustomed all her life to privations, with the coarsest necessaries.
Autobiography of a Pocket Handkerchief
Michael Vaughan's team headed into the fourth day 269 runs behind with only eight wickets intact after being forced to toil for two days in the field.
Cricket: England turmoil
Family 'n friends can just get lost The children, too, to a certain extent All cast aside as we pay the rent We put the kids in playgroups so we can work Then get the blame when they go beserk No pension prospects - but you're to blame You'll toil for years until you lay Upon a hospital trolley old 'n' grey Just hope to God you've got the bread To replace the sign 'Not to be resucitated We sell our soul to the minimum wage
You say: Your Poem: Chasing the penny - at all costs
His fast start in a business that often requires its practitioners to toil for years to attain the knowledge, contacts and skill necessary to achieving success, hasn't gone unnoticed.
Young gun finds everything is adding up at Studely
After 40 years of toil for the same firm, a partner at a Midland accountants has at long last let off some steam.
Anniversary treat: Ken shows he can still get up some steam
While daily shift work is the book's principal focus, Coleman has also done some consulting work with the extreme version -- "fly in/fly out" arrangements in remote areas, where workers toil for weeks at a stretch.
The 24-Hour Business: Maximizing Productivity Through Round-the-Clock Operations. (Bookshelf)
With much still to be done in Latin America, we hope our tribute to a select group of leaders will encourage those who toil for progress and prosperity in the region.
Second to None
While most songwriters would be willing to sweat and toil for years to discover one perfectly crafted song, Merritt effortlessly unearths one gem after another from the vast treasure trove of his imagination.
music: chef's choice
Before their first job, many will toil for 5 years or more as postdoctoral scholars to gain further training or learn a new specialty.
Postdocs warrant more status and support