lab
noun
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lab
1 American
[lab]
/ læb /
noun
labs
plural
Lab
2
American
[lab]
/ læb /
noun
LAB
3
American
Or
lab
abbreviation
Slang.
lab.
4
American
abbreviation
-
labor.
-
laboratory.
-
laborer.
Lab.
5
American
abbreviation
-
Laborite.
-
Labrador.
Lab.
1
British
abbreviation
-
politics Labour
-
Labrador
lab
2
British
/ læb /
noun
-
short for laboratory
-
short for Labrador retriever
lab.
3
British
abbreviation
-
laboratory
-
labour
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of lab1
By shortening
Origin of Lab2
By shortening
Origin of LAB3
From its use in digital communications
Explanation
A lab is a room or building where science experiments, tests, and research are done. Most high schools have science labs for biology and chemistry classes. Lab is shorthand for laboratory, with its Medieval Latin root laboratorium, "a place for labor or work," from the Latin laborare, "to work." Many scientists and researchers go to work each day in a lab (often wearing a "lab coat," a white smock that protects their clothes). Some labs are equipped for studying the way plants grow and reproduce, while in others scientists study the brainwaves of human subjects or the traits of a virus. If you are a scientist, chances are you hang out in a lab.
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.
See Examples For:
But they're still popular: peptides are available online from chemical suppliers "for lab use."
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
On X, the FDA stated, “To clarify, this false positive lab sample does not change the basis for FDA’s ongoing outbreak investigation or the overwhelming epidemiological data supporting the current voluntary recall by Taylor Farms.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
"We were very excited to see that GHP-88310 given by mouth completely prevented airborne transmission in our ferret model of measles," said first author Carolin Lieber, a senior postdoctoral fellow in the Plemper lab.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 24, 2026
Dozens of homegrown AI chips were available on the market, but a government-backed research lab told Premier Li Qiang that they were “very unstable,” according to state media.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Just like the day before, the door to the smaller lab clouded over, obscuring everything else from view.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
Many space companies rely on U.S. government contracts; Rocket Lab, for one, won a $266 million defense contract on Monday.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
That increase is anticipated to be driven by companies like SpaceX and Rocket Lab, as well as Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and startups including Stoke Space.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
She stops being the main character in her own story, says Victoria L. Jackson, a sports historian and co-director of the Great Game Lab, a research entity at Arizona State University.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
If successful, Skyroot's model would appear similar to that of Rocket Lab in the US, which provides small-lift launch vehicles.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
In the Rad Lab, these words were typically honored in the breach.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
While not all LAB are classified as probiotics, LAB are the most commonly used probiotics in food products.
From Slate ● Feb. 22, 2025
It’s worth mentioning that LAB is an umbrella term for a group of bacteria that share certain characteristics, with the most notable being their ability to produce lactic acid.
From Slate ● Feb. 22, 2025
Nezha stopped dancing with LAB at the start of the pandemic while Conti stayed with the company and performed her last show in June 2023 with “Lady of the Camellias.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2023
This difference in water content between the two layers constituting the LAB can explain the sharp velocity drops as well as the near constant attenuation observed over a wide frequency range in the asthenosphere.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 27, 2023
LAB, s. a stroke; a blow; a lump.
From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume XXIV. by Leighton, Alexander
"This question did not start in the lab. It started in conversations with beekeepers," Baer said.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 20, 2026
“This is the zoo lab. This would be the botanist’s room on the Beagle,” he said.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2025
"We used to have on average 10 applicants daily at our government analytical lab. We are now averaging 100 daily and the numbers are still increasing," he added.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2023
“I’m carrying around urine bottles and sending them to the lab. And within 48 hours, we had the answer to our question.”
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 15, 2022
“They’re giving me my own lab. Meanwhile, don’t tell them, but I’m purchasing mass quantities of research supplies: sugar, gelatin, cornstarch and...jelly bean molds!”
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
“There’s no limits for the Do Lab. It’s a good escape from everything else and it’s always the perfect vibe at sunset,” said Bocanegra.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2025
BlackSky, the launch customer, retweeted Rocket Lab’s statement, saying: “This is what we have received from Rocket Lab. We will continue to offer updates as we learn more.”
From The Verge ● May 15, 2021
“I’m working with my students and staff to move my work out of the Media Lab. That might involve moving to another part of MIT. It might mean moving elsewhere,” he told the newspaper.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 21, 2019
Through Aug. 12 at the Kennedy Center’s Theater Lab. $49-$59. 202-467-4600 or kennedy-center.org.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 26, 2018
“Big problem, though. The memory serum virus is in the Weapons Lab. The one Nita just tried—and failed—to break into.”
From "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth
"This last year when I talk about the five labs, four of the five are in Nigeria," he added.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Major hyperscalers and more than a dozen of neocloud companies and AI labs that once might have looked at natural-gas powered and other combustion technologies now choose Bloom as a “superior power solution,” he added.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
The world’s leading AI labs are grappling with how to prevent or mitigate damage by malevolent users without hampering well-intentioned research queries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
He set up a committee that drew from the country’s best companies and labs to form specialized teams and directed them to master the different elements of the chip supply chain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
It was another instance, and not the last, of Cavendish intuition and resourcefulness outplaying labs with more soaring ambitions, superior resources, and, perhaps, a touch less vision.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
