labor

American  

[ley-ber] / ˈleɪ bər /

especially British, labour

noun

• labors
  plural

1. productive activity, especially for the sake of economic gain.

   Antonyms:

   rest, leisure, idleness

2. the body of persons engaged in such activity, especially those working for wages.

   Synonyms:

   working class

3. this body of persons considered as a class (distinguished from management andcapital ).

4. physical or mental work, especially of a hard or fatiguing kind; toil.

   Synonyms:

   exertion

   Antonyms:

   rest, leisure, idleness

5. a job or task done or to be done.

6. the physical effort and periodic uterine contractions of childbirth.

   Synonyms:

   delivery, parturition

7. the interval from the onset of these contractions to childbirth.

8. Also called Labor Department.  Informal. Labor. the Department of Labor.

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verb (used without object)

• labors,
  present (3rd person singular)
• labored,
  past participle,  past
• laboring
  present participle

1. to perform labor; exert one's powers of body or mind; work; toil.

   Synonyms:

   drudge

   Antonyms:

   rest

2. to strive, as toward a goal; work hard (often followed byfor ).

   to labor for peace.

3. to act, behave, or function at a disadvantage (usually followed byunder ).

   to labor under a misapprehension.

4. to be in the actual process of giving birth.

5. to roll or pitch heavily, as a ship.

verb (used with object)

• labors,
  present (3rd person singular)
• labored,
  past participle,  past
• laboring
  present participle

1. to develop or dwell on in excessive detail.

   Don't labor the point.

   Synonyms:

   overdo, belabor

2. to burden or tire.

   to labor the reader with unnecessary detail.

3. British Dialect. to work or till (soil or the like).

adjective

1. of or relating to workers, their associations, or working conditions.

   labor reforms.

labor British  

/ ˈleɪbə /

verb

1. the US spelling of labour

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labor Scientific  

/ lā′bər /

1. The process by which the birth of a mammal occurs, beginning with contractions of the uterus and ending with the expulsion of the fetus and the placenta.

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labor Cultural  

1. The physical processes at the end of a normal pregnancy, including opening of the cervix and contractions of the uterus, that lead to the birth of the baby.

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Usage

What are other ways to say labor? Labor refers to mental or physical work, especially that which is hard or fatiguing. When should you use labor instead of work, drudgery, or toil? Find out on Thesaurus.com.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prelabor
  noun
• outlabor
  verb (used with object)
• overlabor
  verb (used with object)
• antilabor
  adjective
• laborless
  adjective
• nonlabor
  adjective
• prolabor
  adjective
• unlaboring
  adjective
• laboringly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• labors
  plural

Participles

• laboring
  present
• labored
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• labor
  simple
• labors
  simple
• have labored
  perfect
• has labored
  perfect
• am laboring
  progressive
• are laboring
  progressive
• is laboring
  progressive
• have been laboring
  perfect progressive
• has been laboring
  perfect progressive

Past

• labored
  simple
• had labored
  perfect
• was laboring
  progressive
• were laboring
  progressive
• had been laboring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will labor
  simple
• will have labored
  perfect
• will be laboring
  progressive
• will have been laboring
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of labor

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English labour, from Old French, from Latin labōr- (stem of labor ) “work”

Explanation

Although the word labor seems to suggest tough, physical work that makes you sweat, any type of work, whether physical or mental, can be considered labor. Labor is usually associated with very hard, physical work, suggesting fatigue and aching muscles. In fact, a woman giving birth is said to be in labor, giving true meaning to the phrase "labor of love." The word can also be used as a verb, as in "He had to labor many years to pay off his debt." That sense of hard work fits in with the Labor Party of some nations, a party generally favored by and supporting the working class.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

labor labors labored laboring

Brazil was also impacted under a separate global tariff regime against US trading partners accused of using forced labor.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

You have scarcely turned the first page when you meet with Smith’s influential paean to the productivity-enhancing principle of the division of labor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Nearly all of the city’s power structure — elected officials, labor unions, the Los Angeles Police Protective League, business owners and even the three other democratic socialist councilmembers — has endorsed Bass.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

Levanon, chief economist of the labor research firm Burning Glass Institute, said robust economic growth and low hiring makes perfect sense in a period of fast-rising productivity.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

He said looking for work was more worry than a hard day’s labor.

From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm

Aleys acknowledges the contentment of the Beguines, understanding that their communal labors knit their “hopes, their labor, even their disagreements” as “strands in a single weave.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2026

After all, since 1776, millions of Irishmen and women and their descendants have helped make America great through their labors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025

The box is carved with scenes of the labors of Hercules, while the lid is decorated with monumental reclining figures of the deceased.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2025

As Rams coach Sean McVay and Snead navigate their ninth season together, they can’t avoid seeing throughout the NFL the fruits — and competitive challenges — created by their labors and success.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2025

The helicopter labors upward, thwock-thwock-thwocking over the shoulder of Mt.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

The noise of backhoes, cranes and bulldozers echoed across Colombia's quake-hit cities on Sunday as workers labored to remove rubble, though the chance of finding survivors was slim a week after the disaster.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

Thus far, however, this effort has yielded only a few dozen genetically modified long-haired mice, which evokes the Aesopian adage about the mountain that labored and brought forth a mouse.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026

Last Thanksgiving, Megan Thee Stallion labored for days to prepare an elaborate holiday dinner for then-boyfriend Klay Thompson and his family.

From Salon ● Apr. 30, 2026

In many years on dairy farms, the worker often labored for 10 hours with no breaks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026

At once they came, waves of them, one after another, and they labored separating and dividing, until what had been a confused mass lay all ordered, every seed with its kind.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

With a band laboring in the pit, the stage became a dance floor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

One minute, she’d been in the bathroom, laboring through a contraction.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2026

A quarter-century Jean’s senior, David is trying to finish a stalled book project, laboring in the shadow of his more prolific and successful wife, Ann.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026

"For decades, while laboring in the vineyards of the community, he inspired us to keep hope alive in the struggle for liberty and justice for all," the Democrat said.

From BBC ● Feb. 17, 2026

He glanced up briefly and scowled again before turning back to whatever verse he was laboring over.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

Related Words

• activity
• employment
• energy
• industry
• job