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
Doctors and nurses, some bruised from face masks, were laboring 16- to 18-hour days, said Scott Steiner, the system’s chief executive.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 28, 2020
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
Industrialization meant people were laboring further from home, but they still wanted something hot and delicious to eat during the workday.
From Time ● Apr. 14, 2016
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
