division of labor

American

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

noun

Economics.

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

division of labor Cultural

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.

Etymology

Origin of division of labor

First recorded in 1770–80

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.

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

From MarketWatch • Feb. 10, 2026

Reduced armor may go hand in hand with other helpful social traits, including cooperative foraging, shared nest defense, and division of labor, all of which tend to become more pronounced as colonies grow.

From Science Daily • Dec. 22, 2025

Athens’s wealth enabled a deeper division of labor and the rise of professions like philosopher, historian, sculptor, architect, playwright and actor.

From The Wall Street Journal • Aug. 29, 2025

And so he devised a division of labor system, which he called parataxonomy.

From Salon • Apr. 26, 2025

We’ve never done this together before, but we establish our rhythm, our division of labor.

From "Every Day" by David Levithan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023