labor
noun
productive activity, especially for the sake of economic gain.
had been laboring
-
past perfect progressiveof labor.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
Frustrated city officials had been laboring for months, without success, to get disaster assistance.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2025
Born in rural Puebla, they had been laboring since they were 6, tending to goats and cows and then toiling in cornfields.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2024
It did wonders; I finished a big manuscript I had been laboring on for months and months.
From Slate ● Nov. 6, 2022
Mr. Tollett said that he and his team had been laboring over logistics to minimize patrons’ time waiting in line, and spent months scouring the region for more than 1,000 flushable toilets.
From New York Times ● Sep. 28, 2016
For more than a week, I knew he had been laboring over nails to turn them into fish hooks.
From "The Cay" by Theodore Taylor
