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

Some have argued that such claims are hyperbolic or inaccurate, while others say it is a useful and accurate ideological label.

From Salon ● Nov. 4, 2026

The same year, he founded his longtime record label Metroplex, which released scores of his singles like “No UFO’s” along with 1995’s LP “Deep Space,” 1999’s “Mind and Body” and 2015’s “Digital Solutions.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026

I agree, but I’m not sure that I want to label a fundamental reduction in the power of landowners an “ownership society.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

The fund’s exposures to label maker Multi-Color, struggling automotive company Aston Martin and building products maker Cornerstone Building Brands have further strained its portfolio, the people said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

The way we use words to label people and identify things is important.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

Another wrote that the object bore no labels indicating that it's a wine bottle.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

The brand, which works with labels like Van Cleef & Arpels, sets them in fine jewelry.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

And electronic labels aren’t, in themselves, surge pricing.

From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026

What prompted the letter from Furner is that Walmart is expanding its use of electronic shelf labels, little screens that let employees update prices digitally from a central computer instead of replacing stickers by hand.

From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026

Since the statues were really holographic projections, they had chisel-type labels floating in front of their pedestals identifying who the famous people were.

From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein

The Pentagon’s AI plans exclude one of the largest model developers, Anthropic, after the department earlier this year labeled the San Francisco company a national security threat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

Careful Slatest readers will remember that we recently labeled the U.S.

From Slate ● Nov. 4, 2026

Instead, experiments that tracked specially labeled glucose showed that muscle cells redirected the sugar toward manufacturing their own antioxidants.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 28, 2026

Since the 1990s, Marsak has kept watch on the Clark, often labeled a “zombie building” because of its long idleness.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026

Chess crossed the room and looked at the two books leaning forlornly against each other: an ancient-looking dictionary and a binder labeled “Computer Manual.”

From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

In his trading note dispatched to clients Wednesday, Privorotsky acknowledges that the delay or abandonment of some data centers could slow down what is labelled by investors the picks-and-shovels trade.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2026

AI detection technology is not perfect; some forms of the software have labelled the US Constitution, written in the 1780s, as "AI-generated".

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

Publishers sign up to the scheme for a fee, and can then request to get their authors' books labelled with the Books By People mark.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

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

It is a movement often labelled Romanticism, although, like the terms ‘Renaissance’, ‘Baroque’ and ‘Classical’, it presents considerable difficulties when applied to music.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Regulators in charge of food labeling tend to agree.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

Some experts argue that a patchwork of state-by-state labeling, like California’s, could confuse the food industry as a whole.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026

“We believe that SPCX’s unrivaled launch capabilities represent the foundational competitive advantage that enables all other parts of its business,” Godyn said in a note to clients, labeling the recent Starship mission a “major” milestone.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

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

“You can copy mine, if you like,” said Ron, labeling his last star with a flourish and shoving the chart toward Harry.

From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling

Seoul's National Security Office, meanwhile, said the launches violated UN Security Council resolutions, labelling them "serious acts that do nothing to help manage the current situation".

From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026

"There is a lot of anger," said activist Sidorela Vatnikaj, labelling the movement a "revolution".

From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026

Providing more bins or clearer labelling are some of the ways in which businesses could make a difference, said waste reduction charity Wrap.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 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

One way involves labelling each large section with a letter.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

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Related Words

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

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