slave labor
Americannoun
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persons, especially a large group, performing labor under duress or threats, as prisoners in a concentration camp; a labor force of slaves or slavelike prisoners.
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labor done by such a labor force.
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any coerced or poorly remunerated work.
Data entry at that salary is slave labor.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of slave labor
First recorded in 1810–20
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
With the 1793 invention of the cotton gin—which separated cotton fibers from its seeds with a previously undreamed-of efficiency—America’s plantation economy expanded exponentially and so did its use of slave labor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025
Tim Dillon was scheduled to perform, but was later dropped by the Riyadh festival, he said, because of jokes he made about Saudi Arabia’s alleged use of slave labor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2025
“It’s not down to paying Canadians less or slave labor or having different governmental incentives,” said Johnston.
From Slate ● Mar. 8, 2025
Despite the horrific and complex system of slave labor camps, plantations and rural and urban settings — enslaved Africans musical traditions and instruments were upheld and passed down by generations.
From Salon ● Feb. 15, 2024
The use of forced slave labor by Europeans began almost as soon as the first Spanish settlers arrived in the New World.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
