labor
noun
productive activity, especially for the sake of economic gain.
were laboring
-
past progressiveof labor.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
That both were laboring a little might also explain that Seattle’s passing numbers were the lowest of the season, with Russell Wilson completing 16 of 23 passes for 149 yards.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 3, 2021
The notion that investors were laboring under “fantastic illusions” and had bid up prices to unsupportable levels appeared in many places.
From New York Times ● Sep. 15, 2017
“And there have been a few improvements . . . but while they were laboring over these small fixes, trolling has become more sophisticated, more incentivized, more coordinated, and more aggressive.”
From Washington Post ● Jan. 10, 2017
While the hosts were laboring, Chicago managed to stop the rot of two successive defeats and put themselves in second place again, with their defense recording a morale-boosting clean sheet.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 8, 2012
Men were laboring with Mattocks & Axes & Picks & rustic Grubbing Hoes — & together they digged out & built up the Breastworks & Redoubts at the Eminence of the Hill.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
