as in effort
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Recent Examples of spadework
As with Joe Biden and Barack Obama before him — and, indeed, as in his first term — Trump’s flurry of orders is the product of a legislative branch that has been content to leave the spadework to the president, and to a presidency that has begun to take cynical advantage of that trend.
—
The Editors, National Review, 22 Jan. 2025
But the loss at the Mercedes plants will almost surely slow down the union’s campaign and probably force it to do more spadework to secure the support of workers before seeking to hold elections at other auto plants.
—Jack Ewing, New York Times, 17 May 2024
In this peacemaking effort, the United States would have to do almost all the spadework.
—Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Mar. 2024
Early spadework for the new batch of projects also dates back to the City of Cleveland’s 2004 Waterfront District Plan.
—Steven Litt, cleveland, 26 Feb. 2022
See All Example Sentences for spadework
The Editors, National Review, 22 Jan. 2025
But the loss at the Mercedes plants will almost surely slow down the union’s campaign and probably force it to do more spadework to secure the support of workers before seeking to hold elections at other auto plants.
—Jack Ewing, New York Times, 17 May 2024
In this peacemaking effort, the United States would have to do almost all the spadework.
—Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Mar. 2024
Early spadework for the new batch of projects also dates back to the City of Cleveland’s 2004 Waterfront District Plan.
—Steven Litt, cleveland, 26 Feb. 2022
See All Example Sentences for spadework
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spadework
Noun
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The collar will help scientists understand the movement patterns and reproductive behavior of the Sierra Nevada red fox, providing key insights to guide conservation efforts.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
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The former county clerk in Colorado was convicted of multiple crimes for letting someone access data from a secure voting system in an effort to prove unsubstantiated 2020 election conspiracies.—
Phillip M. Bailey,
USA Today,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The conceit of narrating a year in one’s life through the toils and sensations of the kitchen is one that many have taken up before.—
Hannah Goldfield,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
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Later in the season, after the Bridgerton sons playfully throw shaving foam at each other, a maid is shown scrubbing the floor, the furniture, and the walls, their fun and folly now her toil.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Perhaps there is a way to acknowledge head-on that recovery is, essentially, drudgery, and to make that compelling onstage.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
29 Jan. 2026
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Your inner lover girl is dying for some time in the sun, for a vacation from your usual drudgeries.—
Steph Koyfman,
Condé Nast Traveler,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Side effects can include fever, fatigue, intestinal symptoms, skin rashes or neurological symptoms.—
Janelle Ash,
FOXNews.com,
6 Feb. 2026
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This included no meaningful excess of memory loss or dementia, depression, sleep disturbance, erectile dysfunction, weight gain, nausea, fatigue or headache.—
Sara Moniuszko,
USA Today,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Set in the late 90’s, the comedy follows the trials and travails of Chester (Dan Beirne), a cartoonist and Sonny (Emily Lê), a TV host, who are in a long-term, committed, romantic relationship until Sonny introduces the idea of opening up the couple.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Porkchop has persevered through her travails.—
Lila Seidman,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
At the time, abolitionists committed to the eradication of slavery remained a small minority, and most Northerners belonged to either the Whig or Democratic parties.—
Stephen Mihm,
Twin Cities,
8 Feb. 2026
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Only during the last months of the war, with slavery disintegrating and northern victory all but assured, did exchanges resume.—
Drew Gilpin Faust,
The Atlantic,
8 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spadework.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spadework. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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