label

American  

[lay-buhl] / ˈleɪ bəl /

noun

• labels
  plural

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 1. 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.

   2. 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.

6. 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.

7. Obsolete. a strip or narrow piece of anything.

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verb (used with object)

• labels,
  present (3rd person singular)
• labeled,
  past participle,  past
• labelled,
  past participle,  past (especially British)
• labeling,
  present participle
• labelling
  present participle (especially British)

1. to affix a label to; mark with a label.

   The drawers have all been labeled with their contents.

2. to designate or describe by or on a label.

   The bottle was labeled poison.

3. 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.

4. Chemistry. Also to incorporate a radioactive or heavy isotope into (a molecule) in order to make traceable.

label British  

/ ˈleɪbəl /

noun

1. 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

2. 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

3. a word or phrase heading a piece of text to indicate or summarize its contents

4. a trademark or company or brand name on certain goods, esp, formerly, on gramophone records

5. another name for dripstone

6. 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

7. 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

8. chem a radioactive element used in a compound to trace the mechanism of a chemical reaction

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verb

1. to fasten a label to

2. to mark with a label

3. to describe or classify in a word or phrase

   to label someone a liar

4. to make (one or more atoms in a compound) radioactive, for use in determining the mechanism of a reaction

label Scientific  

/ lā′bəl /

1. See tracer

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• labeler
  noun
• labeller
  noun
• prelabel
  noun
• relabel
  verb (used with object)
• nonlabeling
  adjective
• nonlabelling
  adjective
• unlabeled
  adjective
• unlabelled
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• labels
  plural

Participles

• labeling
  present
• labelling
  present
• labeled
  past
• labelled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• label
  simple
• labels
  simple
• have labeled
  perfect
• have labelled
  perfect
• has labeled
  perfect
• has labelled
  perfect
• am labeling
  progressive
• am labelling
  progressive
• are labeling
  progressive
• are labelling
  progressive
• is labeling
  progressive
• is labelling
  progressive
• have been labeling
  perfect progressive
• have been labelling
  perfect progressive
• has been labeling
  perfect progressive
• has been labelling
  perfect progressive

Past

• labeled
  simple
• labelled
  simple
• had labeled
  perfect
• had labelled
  perfect
• was labeling
  progressive
• was labelling
  progressive
• were labeling
  progressive
• were labelling
  progressive
• had been labeling
  perfect progressive
• had been labelling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will label
  simple
• will have labeled
  perfect
• will have labelled
  perfect
• will be labeling
  progressive
• will be labelling
  progressive
• will have been labeling
  perfect progressive
• will have been labelling
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of label

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Middle French: “ribbon,” perhaps from Germanic; cf. lap ¹

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

label labels labeled labelled labeling labelling

Researchers can generally label only a small number of structures at once, making it difficult to observe how different components interact across an entire cell.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026

“It was obvious that the record was going to be about that,” said Dailor, sitting with the others in an upstairs loft at the Hollywood offices of the band’s label, Loma Vista.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

They looked like tiny illustrations of fish pulled from the label of a particularly fancy tin of sardines, with hooks attached.

From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026

Offended and upset, some fans demanded an apology - but the band's record label, forbade the members from issuing a statement.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

I mean, I could show them the address label.

From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

By combining two advanced microscopy techniques, the instrument achieves a resolution of approximately 120 nanometers, an unprecedented level of detail for an approach that does not require fluorescent labels.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026

The World Bank, which doesn’t use developed or developing country labels, has said it will phase out loans to China by 2031.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

Despite the mounting scandals, some in the book trade view the idea of labels with scepticism.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

After the backlash, Spotify posted its content moderation rules and said it would add content advisory labels on COVID-related podcasts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

‘My labels is only telling bits of it,’ the BFG said.

From "The BFG" by Roald Dahl

Board members approved the apartment expense in June 2018, according to emails, and labeled the apartment and associated costs a “business travel expense”; no different than paying for a hotel, they wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

The products, which are often labeled as “for research use only” or “not for human consumption,” are powdered substances that must be reconstituted with bacteriostatic water and injected.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

Most of the products a family may look at are labeled as “child protection,” and that brings home the role reversals involved in parenting your parents.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

Both Gershkovich and his employer vehemently denied he was a spy and the US State Department labeled him "wrongfully detained."

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

“Do not listen to him. That is an oversimplication of things. A sensationalist view of it. One to encourage confusion. Many things that are misunderstood are labeled dangerous,” Gia replied.

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

The French group runs a scheme under which authors can get their books assessed and then labelled as a "human creation" for a small fee, with about 200 works so far given the stamp.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

"At what point do we need to be aware that it potentially can be damaging to us and our children, and AI should definitely be labelled more."

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

His answer is revealing on several levels, and was leapt on by many in football and then by the Conservatives, who labelled them "completely out of touch" and "extraordinary".

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

"Dad labelled everything, recorded everything and backed it all up to cassette, over and over," he said.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

He pointed towards the urn labelled with the plaque that read BELOVED.

From "The Marvels" by Brian Selznick

Additional experiments using isotopic labeling and neutron scattering showed how the structure of the starting polymer influences the resulting fuel.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026

Manufacturers counter with front-of-the-package labeling that highlights added vitamins and minerals or the “heart healthy” benefits of supplied fiber.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

It’s also usually the manufacturer’s responsibility to ensure everything on those products’ labeling is accurate.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

“I think that we have to shift it away from ideological labeling to really concrete economic ideas — you know, they call her a pothole pragmatist, the DSA does. ... That’s what we need.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

“I’m cleaning out the boxes and labeling them.”

From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline

For some parents the countdown to starting school means buying uniforms, labelling water bottles and trying to squeeze in one last summer holiday.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

Several labelling schemes, including from Britain, France and Germany, were being showcased at the world's biggest book industry fair in Frankfurt this week, where the challenges posed by AI were hotly debated.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

And even those who don't like the direction of travel are labelling their opinions as a desire to be helpful, they're not trying to criticise the boss.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

Zach calls it "labelling" - making the invisible cognitive and emotional labour visible.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

Such labelling and treatment made them an angry and embittered lot.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane

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Related Words

• company
• design
• logo
• number
• stamp
• sticker
• tag
• trademark

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