lab
noun
lab
1 American
[lab]
/ læb /
noun
-
labs
plural
Lab
2
American
[lab]
/ læb /
noun
LAB
3
American
Or
lab
abbreviation
Slang.
lab.
4
American
abbreviation
-
labor.
-
laboratory.
-
laborer.
Lab.
5
American
abbreviation
-
Laborite.
-
Labrador.
Lab.
1
British
abbreviation
-
politics Labour
-
Labrador
lab
2
British
/ læb /
noun
-
short for laboratory
-
short for Labrador retriever
lab.
3
British
abbreviation
-
laboratory
-
labour
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of lab1
By shortening
Origin of Lab2
By shortening
Origin of LAB3
From its use in digital communications
Explanation
A lab is a room or building where science experiments, tests, and research are done. Most high schools have science labs for biology and chemistry classes. Lab is shorthand for laboratory, with its Medieval Latin root laboratorium, "a place for labor or work," from the Latin laborare, "to work." Many scientists and researchers go to work each day in a lab (often wearing a "lab coat," a white smock that protects their clothes). Some labs are equipped for studying the way plants grow and reproduce, while in others scientists study the brainwaves of human subjects or the traits of a virus. If you are a scientist, chances are you hang out in a lab.
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.
See Examples For:
This anxiety persisted even after scientists at a sleep lab informed study participants they had achieved quality sleep.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
More people are asking AI to interpret their lab test results.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
More than six years after the pandemic's onset, the debate over whether Covid-19 leaked from a lab remains intense.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
DeepMind founder Demis Hassabis also stepped down from his CEO role at the AI lab, though he’s staying with the company and has moved into a more research-focused role as Google’s chief scientist.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
As a student at PS 394, she’d become a skilled hacker despite only having access to some ancient PCs in the school’s computer lab.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
It was even more dramatic for ADP and Stanford Digital Economy Lab researchers.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
Rocket Lab in June also agreed to acquire Iridium, a satellite operator, for $54 a share in cash and stock, positioning the company to possibly compete with SpaceX’s satellite business.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Rocket Lab said in conjunction with its second-quarter earnings report on Monday that the subsidiary builds on its recent acquisition of laser optical-communications provider Mynaric, which is based in Munich.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
Shares of Rocket Lab fell 1.6% to $78.80 after Monday’s bell.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
It was during this period that Ernest acquired the reputation of a relentless taskmaster in command of a growing brigade; the recurring term in personal reminiscences of the Rad Lab is “slave driver.”
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
When I observed the LAB dancers in the studio as they prepared for their upcoming program, there were no tiaras or tutus, no pretense of easy perfection.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
While not all LAB are classified as probiotics, LAB are the most commonly used probiotics in food products.
From Slate ● Feb. 22, 2025
Assuming a bloom of virulent C. acnes was to blame, I hypothesized that recolonizing my skin microbiota with probiotic LAB could effectively treat my acne.
From Slate ● Feb. 22, 2025
This difference in water content between the two layers constituting the LAB can explain the sharp velocity drops as well as the near constant attenuation observed over a wide frequency range in the asthenosphere.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 27, 2023
For a commercial establishment, the LAB was not considerate of potential clients.
From Forget Me Nearly by F. L. (Floyd L.) Wallace
"This question did not start in the lab. It started in conversations with beekeepers," Baer said.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 20, 2026
“This is the zoo lab. This would be the botanist’s room on the Beagle,” he said.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2025
“If you see how our plant is going to operate, it’s like a lab. So we need a lot of young talented people.”
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 19, 2023
“It was Frank Lloyd Wright’s lab. That makes it a space for life and creativity.”
From New York Times ● Mar. 6, 2023
"Oh, there're about six of you guys out here already. Some up in the testing lab. Everybody knows about that."
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
“There’s no limits for the Do Lab. It’s a good escape from everything else and it’s always the perfect vibe at sunset,” said Bocanegra.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2025
BlackSky, the launch customer, retweeted Rocket Lab’s statement, saying: “This is what we have received from Rocket Lab. We will continue to offer updates as we learn more.”
From The Verge ● May 15, 2021
“I’m working with my students and staff to move my work out of the Media Lab. That might involve moving to another part of MIT. It might mean moving elsewhere,” he told the newspaper.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 21, 2019
Through Aug. 12 at the Kennedy Center’s Theater Lab. $49-$59. 202-467-4600 or kennedy-center.org.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 26, 2018
“Big problem, though. The memory serum virus is in the Weapons Lab. The one Nita just tried—and failed—to break into.”
From "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth
Increased demand from AI labs, hyperscalers and enterprises led CoreWeave’s revenue backlog to reach $104 billion at the end of the second quarter, up 246% from a year prior.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
His solution: “a close proactive collaboration between frontier labs and the government rather than a rigid process and review timeline that is followed in all cases.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
That sounds like a lot, and it is, but the frontier AI labs like OpenAI and Anthropic can make a “good living” off it.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
A new generation of cost-efficient, high-performance Chinese AI is putting pressure on Silicon Valley's leading labs to lower prices to grab market share as they try and find ways to turn a profit.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
To get to work, scientists struggled through the mud to the half-finished Tech Area, which housed labs and offices and was surrounded by another fence, nine feet high, with barbed wire strung along the top.
From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
