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label definition

la·bel (bəl)

noun

  1. Archaic
    1. a narrow band of cloth, etc.; fillet
    2. a narrow strip of ribbon attached to a document to hold the seal
  2. a card, strip of paper, etc. marked and attached to an object to indicate its nature, contents, ownership, destination, etc.
  3. a descriptive word or phrase applied to a person, group, theory, etc. as a convenient generalized classification
  4. ☆ an identifying brand, as of a company producing recorded music
    1. a company producing and distributing prerecorded discs, tapes, etc.
    2. such a tape, disc, etc.
  5. tracer ()
  6. Archit. a projecting molding over a door, window, etc.
  7. Heraldry a horizontal bar with several dependent points on the coat of arms of an eldest son

Etymology: OFr, a rag, strip < Frank *labba, akin to OHG lappa, a rag, shred: for IE base see lap

transitive verb labeled -·beled or labelled -·belled, labeling -·bel·ing or labelling -·bel·ling

  1. to attach a label to; mark with a label
  2. to classify as; call; describe
    1. to differentiate (an element, atom, etc.) by introducing a radioactive isotope or an isotope of unusual mass that may be readily traced through a complex process
    2. to incorporate a labeled element into (a molecule, compound, material, etc.)

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:
label Synonyms

label

n.


label

v.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

label Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • attach: Their contact details will be on the Red and White Charge label attached to the parcel, along with the Charge Number.

Preposition: onto

  • cassette: The assembly service is the price for sticking 1 label onto a cassette, or putting 1 cassette into a box.

Adjective modifier

  • sticky: When someone pays their entry fee they get a sticky label and we write their name on it.

Preposition: on

  • spine: Late C19th green leather over dark green cloth; raised bands, gilt tooling, red leather title label on spine.

Modifies a noun

  • boss: The label bosses openly admitted that they were taking all the Royalties and Profits and simply paid the artists a small weekly wage.

Noun used with modifier

  • indie: Do you despair at the lack of true indie labels in the UK at the moment?
label usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

label quotes

Science and technology, like all original creations of the human spirit, are unpredictable. If we had a reliable way to label our toys good and bad, it would be easy to regulate technology wisely. But we can rarely see far enough ahead to know which road leads to damnation. Whoever concerns himself with big technology, either topushitforwardor tostop it, isgambling inhumanlives.

-Dyson, FreemanJ(ohn)

   Most of my colleagues were -ists of one sort or another; and however kind and friendly they might be, I, the man without a rag of a label to cover himself with, could not fail to have some of theuneasy feelings which must have beset the historical fox when, after leaving the trap in which his tail remained, he presented himself to his normally elongated companions. So I took thought, and invented what I conceived to be the appropriate title of 'agnostic'.

-Huxley,T(homas) H(enry)

label quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"label." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/label>

APA Style

label. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/label

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