Showing results for "labour"

• a variation of labor.

labour

American  

[lay-ber] / ˈleɪ bər /

noun

Chiefly British.

1. labor.

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labour British  

/ ˈleɪbə /

noun

1. productive work, esp physical toil done for wages

2. 1. the people, class, or workers involved in this, esp in contrast to management, capital, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a labour dispute

      labour relations

3. 1. difficult or arduous work or effort

   2. ( in combination )

      labour-saving

4. a particular job or task, esp of a difficult nature

5. 1. the process or effort of childbirth or the time during which this takes place

   2. ( as modifier )

      labour pains

6. something done for pleasure rather than gain

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verb

1. (intr) to perform labour; work

2. (intr; foll by for, etc) to strive or work hard (for something)

3. to be burdened (by) or be at a disadvantage (because of)

   to labour under a misapprehension

4. (intr) to make one's way with difficulty

5. (tr) to deal with or treat too persistently

   to labour a point

6. (intr) (of a woman) to be in labour

7. (intr) (of a ship) to pitch and toss

Spelling

See -or ¹.

Other Word Forms

• antilabour
  adjective
• labouringly
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of labour

C13: via Old French from Latin labor; perhaps related to lābī to fall

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

labour

"Automation now takes place mostly in the moulding and the packaging process. But for soft toys, or even some of the electronics nowadays, it's still very labour intensive."

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

Marx himself used the analogy: “Capital is dead labour that, vampire-like, only lives by sucking living labour, and lives the more, the more labour it sucks.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

When she went into labour, Katie was induced and then "we were left in a room for long periods of time where I had no care," she explained.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

There is not a word about those arrested, executed or imprisoned in the gulag, the Soviet Union's vast network of prison labour camps.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

And in many ways the animal method of doing things was more efficient and saved labour.

From "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" by George Orwell

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