Word.ws English Dictionary

A for effort

UK/ˈeɪ fə ˈɛfət//ˈeɪ fəɹ ˈɛfɚt/

A for effort phrase: the effort of the attempt was admirable, even though the attempted action failed.

Phrase

A for effort

  1. (humorous, often, sarcastic) The effort of the attempt was admirable, even though the attempted action failed.

Origin of A for effort

A reference to how school teachers may unofficially grade a student's effort as a consolation prize, where A is the highest grade of the traditional A-F grading.

Questions about A for effort

What does A for effort mean?
A for effort means the effort of the attempt was admirable, even though the attempted action failed.
What part of speech is A for effort?
A for effort is a phrase.
How do you pronounce A for effort?
A for effort is pronounced /ˈeɪ fə ˈɛfət/ (UK).

Words near A for effort in the dictionary

  1. A Fonsagrada
  2. a fool and his money
  3. a fool and his money are easily parted
  4. a fool and his money are soon parted
  5. a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds
  6. A for effort
  7. A formation
  8. a forteriori
  9. a fortiori
  10. a friend in need is a friend indeed
  11. a fry short of a Happy Meal

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: A for effort (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-A for effort.wav.

Cite this entry: “A for effort.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/a_for_effort. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.