Pursue a victory through hard work (7)
I believe the answer is:
travail
'hard work' is the definition.
(synonyms)
I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for travail that I've seen before include "Painful labour" , "Painful or laborious effort, like childbirth" , "Use of physical or mental energy; excessive labour..." , "Old word for pangs of childbirth" , "Hard labour" .)