labor pains
Americanplural noun
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pain experienced as a result of uterine contractions during childbirth.
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difficulties, problems, or setbacks encountered during the initial phase of a business or project.
Etymology
Origin of labor pains
First recorded in 1745–55
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.
There are excellent passages in the book on synced hormones and perinatal conditions, as when fathers experience labor pains, “an extreme example of what researchers have dubbed couvade syndrome.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
At first, her vocals are operatic and pretty, but soon she shrieks and moans like a woman suffering labor pains or nightmares.
From New York Times ● Jul. 5, 2023
At first, she brushed it off as Braxton Hicks, false labor pains not uncommon in the late stages of pregnancy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2023
On the bus behind her, set to arrive the next day, sat a pregnant woman who had been experiencing labor pains and a teenager with a disability that had left him unable to walk.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 15, 2023
The labor pains rolled faster and stronger with each contraction.
From "Copper Sun" by Sharon M. Draper
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.
