Meaning of with a will | Babel Free

Definitions

With willingness and zeal; with all one's heart or strength; earnestly, heartily.

dated, idiomatic

Equivalents

Examples

“«Yes!» muttered the Rover, with bitter irony, as his boat rowed under the stern of the cruiser of the Crown; «yes! I, and my officers, will taste⟳ of your banquet! But the viands shall be such as these hirelings of the King shall little relish!—Pull⟳ with a will, my men, pull⟳; in an hour, you shall rummage the store-rooms of that fool, for your reward⟳!»”

“So Willy and I were wedded: I wore a lilac gown; / And the ringers rang with a will, and he gave the ringers a crown.”

“Now, nobody does anything well that they cannot help⟳ doing: work⟳ is only done well when it is done with a will; and no man has a thoroughly sound⟳ will unless he knows he is doing what he should, and is in his place⟳.”

“Swimming with his right arm, he held up his left to hail them, splashing upon the waves, and shouting with all his might. […] Backing their oars and putting the boat about, they pulled towards him with a will, and in five or six minutes from the time of his first halloo, two of the sailors hauled him in over the stern.”

“And then the whole crew bore chorus:— / "Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!" / And at the third "ho!" drove the bars before them with a will.”

“Under the wide and starry sky, / Dig⟳ the grave and let⟳ me lie⟳. / Glad did I live⟳ and gladly die⟳, / And I laid me down with a will.”

“Then an impromptu square dance⟳, the men devising original figures. What merriment! Jimmy took his part with a will; this was seeing life, at least.”

“Many a reader whose appetite rejoices in hearty fare tucked in his napkin, smacked his lips and fell to with a will.”

“He got Jagu's permission to spend⟳ the slack afternoon hours at the watchmender's without any trouble⟳ – Jagu was taciturn, but good-natured – and he set⟳ to learning the craft with a will.”

CEFR level