division of labor

American  

[dih-vizh-uhn uhv ley-ber] / dɪˈvɪʒ ən əv ˈleɪ bər /

noun

Economics.

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

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division of labor Cultural  

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.

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Etymology

Origin of division of labor

First recorded in 1770–80

Example Sentences

"This division of labor probably explains the flexibility of human memory: the brain can reuse the same concept in countless new situations without needing a specialized neuron for each individual combination, by storing content and context in separate 'neural libraries'," says Bausch.

From Science Daily

The division of labor is precise: The U.S. focuses on the ballistic and drone threats to its regional bases and on the Iranian navy, which has mostly been destroyed.

From The Wall Street Journal

If assembly members prefer hands-on education, perhaps they have embraced a division of labor in which some members of the deliberative body became learned in silencing dissent while others were hard at work studying the prevention of dancing.

From The Wall Street Journal

The division of labor in a marriage often results in one person handling the banking, subscriptions, passwords and more.

From The Wall Street Journal

He doesn’t even know how the division of labor started.

From MarketWatch