labor
productive activity, especially for the sake of economic gain.
the body of persons engaged in such activity, especially those working for wages.
this body of persons considered as a class (distinguished from management and capital).
physical or mental work, especially of a hard or fatiguing kind; toil.
a job or task done or to be done.
the physical effort and periodic uterine contractions of childbirth.
the interval from the onset of these contractions to childbirth.
(initial capital letter)Also called Labor Department .Informal. the Department of Labor.
to strive, as toward a goal; work hard (often followed by for): to labor for peace.
to act, behave, or function at a disadvantage (usually followed by under): to labor under a misapprehension.
to be in the actual process of giving birth.
to roll or pitch heavily, as a ship.
to develop or dwell on in excessive detail: Don't labor the point.
to burden or tire: to labor the reader with unnecessary detail.
British Dialect. to work or till (soil or the like).
of or relating to workers, their associations, or working conditions: labor reforms.
Origin of labor
1- Also especially British, la·bour .
word story For labor
The Latin etymology for labor is obscure: the noun may be related to the verb lābī (which has a long ā ) “to move smoothly, slide” (commonly with implication of downward movement). Lābī in its turn may be related to labāre (with a short a in the root syllable) “to be unsteady on one’s feet, falter, totter.” These derivatives of lāb- and lab- may be related to the Latin nouns labium (the source of English labial ) and labrum, both meaning “lip” and, outside Latin, to the Greek noun lobós “lobe (of the ear, liver, or lung), pod (of a vegetable), slip (of a plant)” (and source of English lobe ).
Other words for labor
2 | working people, working class |
4 | exertion |
6 | parturition, delivery |
9 | drudge |
14 | belabor, overdo |
Opposites for labor
Other words from labor
- la·bor·ing·ly, adverb
- la·bor·less, adjective
- an·ti·la·bor, adjective
- non·la·bor, adjective
- outlabor, verb (used with object)
- o·ver·la·bor, verb (used with object)
- pre·la·bor, noun, verb (used without object)
- pro·la·bor, adjective
- un·la·bor·ing, adjective
Words Nearby labor
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use labor in a sentence
In just one week out of the last 23—dating all the way back to March—weekly jobless claims have come in above 1 million, adding to the carnage in the labor market.
Why the Fed’s huge policy shift on inflation could be rocket fuel for stocks | Bernhard Warner | August 28, 2020 | FortuneInvestigators found the ZIP code protocol was also on the books at Lovelace’s emergency department, in addition to its labor and delivery and perinatal care units.
Federal Investigation Finds Hospital Violated Patients’ Rights by Profiling, Separating Native Mothers and Newborns | by Bryant Furlow, New Mexico In Depth | August 22, 2020 | ProPublicaOne in every two Nigerians in the country’s labor force is either unemployed or underemployed.
Nigeria’s unemployment rate has more than tripled in the last five years—and it will only get worse | Yomi Kazeem | August 14, 2020 | QuartzDepending who you ask, though, these labor savings don’t quite carry over to cost savings for the final consumer.
These Sleek Houses Are 3D Printed, and They Fit in Your Backyard | Vanessa Bates Ramirez | August 13, 2020 | Singularity HubThey can be put to frequent use without requiring more paid labor hours, they are always compliant, and some can even provide the data to prove that they have scoured every inch assigned.
This Week’s Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through August 8) | Singularity Hub Staff | August 8, 2020 | Singularity Hub
Expensive day care pushes women out of the labor market while men continue to work outside the home.
How Good Dads Can Change the World | Gary Barker, PhD, Michael Kaufman | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTPublic sector unions have also fractured the labor movement itself.
How Public Sector Unions Divide the Democrats | Daniel DiSalvo | December 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn Turkey, crime groups in border areas are exploiting the labor of Syrian male refugees who cannot find legitimate employment.
ISIS, Boko Haram, and the Growing Role of Human Trafficking in 21st Century Terrorism | Louise I. Shelley | December 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTMany more illegal migrants face labor trafficking in Europe as they flee the conflict regions of North Africa and the Middle East.
ISIS, Boko Haram, and the Growing Role of Human Trafficking in 21st Century Terrorism | Louise I. Shelley | December 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn the summer of 2014, they both were sentenced to 4-1/2 years in a labor camp.
Behind Bars for the Holidays: 11 Political Prisoners We Want to See Free In 2015 | Movements.Org | December 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAll over the world the just claims of organized labor are intermingled with the underground conspiracy of social revolution.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockThe blind Samson of labor will seize upon the pillars of society and bring them down in a common destruction.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockThe poverty of earlier days was the outcome of the insufficiency of human labor to meet the primal needs of human kind.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockBeggars are not abundant; but women are required to labor quite extensively in the fields.
Glances at Europe | Horace Greeleylabor, so it was argued, was perpetually being saved by the constant introduction of new uses of machinery.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen Leacock
British Dictionary definitions for labor
/ (ˈleɪbə) /
the US spelling of labour
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for labor
[ lā′bər ]
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for labor
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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