division of labor

[ dih-vizh-uhn uhv ley-ber ]

noun

, Economics.

1. a production process in which a worker or group of workers is assigned a specialized task in order to increase efficiency.

division of labor

1. Dividing a job into many specialized parts, with a single worker or a few workers assigned to each part. Division of labor is important to mass production .

Word History and Origins

Origin of division of labor¹

First recorded in 1770–80

Example Sentences

Probably the division-of-labor science never had a happier illustration than is presented by their agreement.

From Project Gutenberg