label

American  

[ley-buhl] / ˈleɪ bəl /

noun

• labels
  plural

1. a slip of paper, cloth, or other material, marked or inscribed, for attachment to something to indicate its manufacturer, nature, ownership, destination, etc..

   The medicine bottle should have a label on it with the dosing instructions.

2. a short word or phrase descriptive of a person, group, intellectual movement, etc..

   The label “progressive” can be used to describe many different political movements.

3. a word or phrase indicating that what follows belongs in a particular category or classification.

   The label “Formal” marks words used in academic or business contexts.

4. Architecture. a molding or dripstone over a door or window, especially one that extends horizontally across the top of the opening and vertically downward for a certain distance at the sides.

5. 1. a brand or trademark under which something, such as clothing or music, is manufactured and sold.

      She records under her own label.

      Chanel has launched a new label for ready-to-wear couture.

   2. the manufacturer using such a label.

      All the big-name labels will have a runway show during Fashion Week.

      Major labels are feeling the economic crunch and are no longer signing small acts or individual musicians.

6. Heraldry. a narrow horizontal strip with a number of downward extensions of rectangular or dovetail form, usually placed in chief as the cadency mark of an eldest son.

7. Obsolete. a strip or narrow piece of anything.

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verb (used with object)

• labels,
  present (3rd person singular)
• labeled,
  past participle,  past
• labelled,
  past participle,  past (especially British)
• labeling,
  present participle
• labelling
  present participle (especially British)

1. to affix a label to; mark with a label.

   The drawers have all been labeled with their contents.

2. to designate or describe by or on a label.

   The bottle was labeled poison.

3. to put in a certain class; classify.

   It's easy to label someone as difficult and stop trying, but curiosity and compassion can often get you further.

4. Chemistry. Also to incorporate a radioactive or heavy isotope into (a molecule) in order to make traceable.

label British  

/ ˈleɪbəl /

noun

1. a piece of paper, card, or other material attached to an object to identify it or give instructions or details concerning its ownership, use, nature, destination, etc; tag

2. a brief descriptive phrase or term given to a person, group, school of thought, etc

   the label "Romantic" is applied to many different kinds of poetry

3. a word or phrase heading a piece of text to indicate or summarize its contents

4. a trademark or company or brand name on certain goods, esp, formerly, on gramophone records

5. another name for dripstone

6. heraldry a charge consisting of a horizontal line across the chief of a shield with three or more pendants: the charge of an eldest son

7. computing a group of characters, such as a number or a word, appended to a particular statement in a program to allow its unique identification

8. chem a radioactive element used in a compound to trace the mechanism of a chemical reaction

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verb

1. to fasten a label to

2. to mark with a label

3. to describe or classify in a word or phrase

   to label someone a liar

4. to make (one or more atoms in a compound) radioactive, for use in determining the mechanism of a reaction

label Scientific  

/ lā′bəl /

1. See tracer

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• labeler
  noun
• labeller
  noun
• prelabel
  noun
• relabel
  verb (used with object)
• nonlabeling
  adjective
• nonlabelling
  adjective
• unlabeled
  adjective
• unlabelled
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• labels
  plural

Participles

• labeling
  present
• labelling
  present
• labeled
  past
• labelled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• label
  simple
• labels
  simple
• have labeled
  perfect
• have labelled
  perfect
• has labeled
  perfect
• has labelled
  perfect
• am labeling
  progressive
• am labelling
  progressive
• are labeling
  progressive
• are labelling
  progressive
• is labeling
  progressive
• is labelling
  progressive
• have been labeling
  perfect progressive
• have been labelling
  perfect progressive
• has been labeling
  perfect progressive
• has been labelling
  perfect progressive

Past

• labeled
  simple
• labelled
  simple
• had labeled
  perfect
• had labelled
  perfect
• was labeling
  progressive
• was labelling
  progressive
• were labeling
  progressive
• were labelling
  progressive
• had been labeling
  perfect progressive
• had been labelling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will label
  simple
• will have labeled
  perfect
• will have labelled
  perfect
• will be labeling
  progressive
• will be labelling
  progressive
• will have been labeling
  perfect progressive
• will have been labelling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of label

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Middle French: “ribbon,” perhaps from Germanic; cf. lap ¹

Explanation

The saying “labels are for jars not people” means it’s OK to put a description on a jar so you know what’s inside (a label), but it’s not okay to judge people by attaching a label, or description to them, such as "nerd," "jock," or "burnout." Label is a busy word. It refers to the paper or identifying marks on a jar that tells you something about what’s inside the jar. Put such an identifier on the jar, and you label it. Related to that is a judgment about someone or something, a label. When you call yourself a superstar, you label yourself. Finally, you can use label as a short form of recording label, a company that produces musical recordings.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

label labels labeled labelled labeling labelling

Her biting, uncompromising style earned her the label of "poison-pen writer" from her critics.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

Stacia Bedford, a course leader at the London College of Fashion, said establishing a label can take between three and five years.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

The discoveries accumulated so quickly that physicists adopted the general label XYZ states for many of these poorly understood particles.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 2, 2026

Now a Disney label called 20th Century Studios, it released five last year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

She took the little bottle from me and read the label aloud.

From "The Witches" by Roald Dahl

In cavernous, tomblike galleries, exquisite statuettes are softly spot-lit on stone shelves without labels, while images of deities painted by Rivera flitted across the ceiling above.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

Though she consciously and strenuously attempted to avoid labels like feminist and activist, Parton’s actions occasionally made her inner beliefs undeniable.

From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026

Warning labels are also a "weak remedy", he added.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

One could argue that there should be no labels in music at all.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026

‘Dreams about giants,’ he muttered to himself as he searched the labels.

From "The BFG" by Roald Dahl

For decades, Anaheim has loftily labeled the land around the neighborhood around the “Platinum Triangle.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

The company has spent at least $15 billion developing Starship, which Evercore ISI analysts have labeled the “keystone dependency” for SpaceX’s growth.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

About 60% of Vietnamese exports to the U.S. are labeled as machinery, electronics or appliances, sectors that are dominated by big companies with Vietnamese operations, such as Samsung, Intel and electronics manufacturer Foxconn, Gillin said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

It labeled Colombia a "longstanding partner in the fight against cartels and a vital regional security leader."

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

He moved quickly down the lists, coming to one labeled Wright, Michelle.

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste

The court rejected requests for Mladic's release on health grounds, a move the populist leader labelled "unprecedented and unjustifiable behaviour".

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

These campaigners were labelled "suffragettes" by the press.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

Those which are then labelled with the AI Persona badge by the streamer will be given the chance to self-disclose or appeal the decision.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

He was first cast out during the "Hundred Flowers Campaign" in the 1950s, when his criticism of Mao's "irrational" economic policies saw him labelled a "rightist".

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

At Bilbo’s front door the old man began to unload: there were great bundles of fireworks of all sorts and shapes, each labelled with a large red G and the elf-rune.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien

Recalling the model airplane sets he assembled as a child, he arranged a fish, a chicken and a duck as a collection of dissected parts on a tabletop, labeling it with instructions for reconstruction.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

The rise of nonalcoholic brews, many of which contain trace amounts of alcohol, has prompted consumers and industry officials to push for clearer labeling.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

Carney said Canadian subsidies for Francophone culture, the role of Francophone online media and bilingual labeling of products sold in Canada were among the issues at stake.

From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026

This underscores the absurdity of labeling fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction in the first place.

From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026

Although confused by this, she made note of it, labeling the phenomenon a “false change.”

From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman

Some said they would post in exchange for free food and drink, without an extra payment on top - and five of those said they would post without labelling the content as an advert.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

But Pyongyang has rejected his overtures, labelling Seoul its "most hostile" enemy and declaring itself an "irreversible" nuclear state.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

Iran captain Mehdi Taremi echoed his coach's thoughts, labelling his side's situation a "disaster".

From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026

In briefings to local media, government sources have been more critical, labelling the rumours "wild speculation" -- in German, "wueste Spekulation", a word play seen as a veiled dig at Merz's potential challenger, Wuest.

From Barron's ● May 29, 2026

One way involves labelling each large section with a letter.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

Related Words

• company
• design
• logo
• number
• stamp
• sticker
• tag
• trademark