label
Americannoun
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labels
plural
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a slip of paper, cloth, or other material, marked or inscribed, for attachment to something to indicate its manufacturer, nature, ownership, destination, etc..
The medicine bottle should have a label on it with the dosing instructions.
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a short word or phrase descriptive of a person, group, intellectual movement, etc..
The label “progressive” can be used to describe many different political movements.
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a word or phrase indicating that what follows belongs in a particular category or classification.
The label “Formal” marks words used in academic or business contexts.
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Architecture. a molding or dripstone over a door or window, especially one that extends horizontally across the top of the opening and vertically downward for a certain distance at the sides.
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a brand or trademark under which something, such as clothing or music, is manufactured and sold.
She records under her own label.
Chanel has launched a new label for ready-to-wear couture.
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the manufacturer using such a label.
All the big-name labels will have a runway show during Fashion Week.
Major labels are feeling the economic crunch and are no longer signing small acts or individual musicians.
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Heraldry. a narrow horizontal strip with a number of downward extensions of rectangular or dovetail form, usually placed in chief as the cadency mark of an eldest son.
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Obsolete. a strip or narrow piece of anything.
verb (used with object)
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labels,
present (3rd person singular)
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labeled,
past participle, past
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labelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
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labeling,
present participle
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labelling
present participle (especially British)
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to affix a label to; mark with a label.
The drawers have all been labeled with their contents.
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to designate or describe by or on a label.
The bottle was labeled poison.
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to put in a certain class; classify.
It's easy to label someone as difficult and stop trying, but curiosity and compassion can often get you further.
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Chemistry. Also to incorporate a radioactive or heavy isotope into (a molecule) in order to make traceable.
noun
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a piece of paper, card, or other material attached to an object to identify it or give instructions or details concerning its ownership, use, nature, destination, etc; tag
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a brief descriptive phrase or term given to a person, group, school of thought, etc
the label "Romantic" is applied to many different kinds of poetry
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a word or phrase heading a piece of text to indicate or summarize its contents
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a trademark or company or brand name on certain goods, esp, formerly, on gramophone records
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another name for dripstone
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heraldry a charge consisting of a horizontal line across the chief of a shield with three or more pendants: the charge of an eldest son
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computing a group of characters, such as a number or a word, appended to a particular statement in a program to allow its unique identification
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chem a radioactive element used in a compound to trace the mechanism of a chemical reaction
verb
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to fasten a label to
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to mark with a label
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to describe or classify in a word or phrase
to label someone a liar
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to make (one or more atoms in a compound) radioactive, for use in determining the mechanism of a reaction
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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labelernoun
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labellernoun
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prelabelnoun
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relabelverb (used with object)
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nonlabelingadjective
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nonlabellingadjective
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unlabeledadjective
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unlabelledadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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labelsimple
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labelssimple
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have labeledperfect
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have labelledperfect
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has labeledperfect
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has labelledperfect
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am labelingprogressive
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am labellingprogressive
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are labelingprogressive
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are labellingprogressive
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is labelingprogressive
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is labellingprogressive
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have been labelingperfect progressive
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have been labellingperfect progressive
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has been labelingperfect progressive
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has been labellingperfect progressive
Past
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labeledsimple
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labelledsimple
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had labeledperfect
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had labelledperfect
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was labelingprogressive
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was labellingprogressive
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were labelingprogressive
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were labellingprogressive
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had been labelingperfect progressive
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had been labellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of label
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Middle French: “ribbon,” perhaps from Germanic; cf. lap 1
Explanation
The saying “labels are for jars not people” means it’s OK to put a description on a jar so you know what’s inside (a label), but it’s not okay to judge people by attaching a label, or description to them, such as "nerd," "jock," or "burnout." Label is a busy word. It refers to the paper or identifying marks on a jar that tells you something about what’s inside the jar. Put such an identifier on the jar, and you label it. Related to that is a judgment about someone or something, a label. When you call yourself a superstar, you label yourself. Finally, you can use label as a short form of recording label, a company that produces musical recordings.
Vocabulary lists containing label
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 1
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Common Five-letter Words for Wordle, List 5
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
She directed the government to rescind all guidance, directives, communications, or instructions to blacklist and label Anthropic a supply-chain risk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
In the 1990s Parton formed her own label, Blue Eye Records.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
She had her own record label, Dolly Records, and co-owned The Dollywood Company, which manages entertainment venues, a theme park, water park and a resort.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
To distinguish Japanese beef from Wagyu produced elsewhere, the Japan Meat Grading Association created the A5 label, which is given only to the highest-quality Japanese cuts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
I mean, I could show them the address label.
From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
A sign at the front of the property labels the property as her former home.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
In cavernous, tomblike galleries, exquisite statuettes are softly spot-lit on stone shelves without labels, while images of deities painted by Rivera flitted across the ceiling above.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Though she consciously and strenuously attempted to avoid labels like feminist and activist, Parton’s actions occasionally made her inner beliefs undeniable.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026
The manufacturers were ordered to add warning labels inside vehicle doors to show passengers how to open them.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
I finger the thick toweled robes, read the labels on the amenities, pat the eiderdown quilts, inspect the well-stocked refrigerator, and step into the huge, empty, gleaming bathtub.
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
If duration isn’t on the front page, it’s behind a tab labeled “portfolio,” “characteristics” or “composition.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
It labeled Colombia a "longstanding partner in the fight against cartels and a vital regional security leader."
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
We tend to assume the next clever kitchen system will come from a new cookbook, a viral freezer hack or somebody else’s meticulously labeled meal-prep containers.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
Some have even labeled the new eagle “Jolene,” a nod to the Dolly Parton song about one woman begging another not to steal her partner.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
The three heroes hopped into their individually labeled tubes and slid down to their briefing stations, where they were surrounded by blinking computers and glowing video screens.
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
The court rejected requests for Mladic's release on health grounds, a move the populist leader labelled "unprecedented and unjustifiable behaviour".
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
City's then manager, Pep Guardiola, even labelled him "our mini-Rodri" in the absence of his influential, injured team-mate.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
These campaigners were labelled "suffragettes" by the press.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
In June, Australia's government reported six cases of acute liver injury linked to products labelled Retatrutide.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
She opened the door of her locker and pointed to the row of boxes and labelled phials on the upper shelf.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
And recently, I’ve been into a U.K. rock artist and again, I feel like when it comes to art, we are free from boundaries, and there’s really no meaning in labeling.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
This underscores the absurdity of labeling fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction in the first place.
From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026
Nearly every social platform has taken steps to constrain the rapid growth of AI-generated content, primarily through automated labeling tools with uneven track records.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
It reported sales that topped $1 billion, with CEO and founder KR Sridhar labeling Bloom a “standard for AI onsite power.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
Doc went to the labeling desk and wrote a note to Red Williams at the gas station, authorizing the issue of ten gallons of gasoline to Mack.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
The country's largest and most influential traditional institution, the Buganda Kingdom, said it mourned with the people of Tooro following the death of their monarch, labelling him a valuable figure to Uganda.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
That month several major music industry organisations unveiled a labelling system for content created with generative AI that they would like to see widely adopted.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
Some said they would post in exchange for free food and drink, without an extra payment on top - and five of those said they would post without labelling the content as an advert.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
Last weekend, The Irish Times reported, external that a large winery in County Louth has been dropped by a distributor as its labelling didn't reflect that some French grapes had been used in its production.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
One way involves labelling each large section with a letter.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
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.
