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
• laboratorial
  adjective
• laboratorially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• 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

See Examples For:

laboratory laboratories

Ruteng Regional General Hospital's operating room, delivery room, pharmacy, and laboratory were all rendered defunct after the building's roof collapsed.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Over that period, the laboratory received 274 samples connected to 201 suspected cases of either deliberate or accidental poisoning across the UK, Ireland, and Gibraltar.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026

Experts at Chilbolton Observatory, operated by the UK's national space laboratory RAL Space, monitor UK-licenced satellites and fast-multiplying fragments of space debris swirling around them.

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

Since May 1, the CDC has laboratory-confirmed 10,468 domestic cases of cyclosporiasis and is aware of more than 12,255 additional cases that have yet to be laboratory confirmed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

The pathologist subsequently performed an autopsy at the Department of Forensic Sciences laboratory in Mobile.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

As a result, quantum materials can perform remarkable tasks in carefully controlled laboratories, but they are difficult and expensive to use in real-world devices.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026

Weihong Xiao, another medical researcher, worked in laboratories headed by Gillison for 20 years, following her from Johns Hopkins to Ohio State and then MD Anderson.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

Britain's national laboratories — the government-owned sites and expert teams that build and run the country's big scientific machines — face the deepest squeeze.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

What remains that haven’t been scavenged have decomposed to the point where DNA analysis is difficult and all but useless in Gaza, where there are no functioning laboratories able to test and compare samples.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

Unlike academically oriented research organizations, the NACAs laboratories always strove to live up to the “practical solutions” of their founding mission.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

Related Words

• lab
• workshop