laboratory

American  

[lab-ruh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee, lab-er-uh-, luh-bor-uh-tuh-ree, -uh-tree] / ˈlæb rəˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i, ˈlæb ər ə-, ləˈbɒr ə tə ri, -ə tri /

noun

laboratories plural

1. a building, part of a building, or other place equipped to conduct scientific experiments, tests, investigations, etc., or to manufacture chemicals, medicines, or the like.

2. any place, situation, set of conditions, or the like, conducive to experimentation, investigation, observation, etc.; anything suggestive of a scientific laboratory.

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adjective

1. serving a function in a laboratory.

2. relating to techniques of work in a laboratory.

   laboratory methods; laboratory research.

laboratory British  

/ -trɪ, ləˈbɒrətərɪ, ˈlæbrəˌtɔːrɪ /

noun

1. 1. a building or room equipped for conducting scientific research or for teaching practical science

   2. ( as modifier )

      laboratory equipment

2. a place where chemicals or medicines are manufactured

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• laboratorian
  noun
• interlaboratory
  adjective
• laboratorially
  adverb
• laboratorial
  adjective

Inflected Forms

noun

• laboratories
  plural

Etymology

Origin of laboratory

1595–1605; < Medieval Latin labōrātōrium workshop, equivalent to Latin labōrā ( re ) to labor + -tōrium -tory ²

Explanation

A laboratory is a place where experiments happen, usually scientific experiments involving chemicals and lab coats, but there are creative and athletic laboratories too, where people experiment with writing and footballs. When you think of a laboratory, you might see men and women wearing face masks pouring colorful liquids into test tubes, and you’d be correct. Any place that is a testing ground for new ideas is a laboratory, like a class full of people thinking up new ways to make paper airplanes. The Latin verb laborare means “to labor,” so remember that a laboratory is a place of hard work: you can’t spell laboratory without labor in it.

Example Sentences

Nuclear start-up Oklo cleared a key Energy Department regulatory hurdle for its Aurora powerhouse at Idaho National Laboratory.

From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026

Before her disappearance, Casias, 53, worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where leading defensive nuclear research is conducted and where the world's first atomic weapons were developed during World War II.

From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026

Oklo has worked with Los Alamos National Laboratory to validate the reactor’s design, which recycles nuclear waste into energy, using surplus plutonium from the federal stockpile.

From Barron's • May 26, 2026

The contract for management and operation of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will be opened up to a competitive bidding process for the first time in its history, the space agency announced on Friday.

From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026

Two months later, Project Vanguard, managed by the US Naval Research Laboratory, also managed to launch a satellite, though the achievement was overshadowed by Vanguard’s many rocket failures.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

Related Words

• lab
• workshop