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labor Definition

la·bor (lā′bər)

noun

  1. physical or mental exertion; work; toil
  2. a specific task; piece of work
    1. all wage-earning workers as a group
    2. all manual workers whose work is characterized largely by physical exertion
  4. labor unions collectively
  5. the work accomplished by or the role in production of all workers, esp. workers for wages
  6. Labor Party
  7. Med. the process or period of childbirth; parturition; esp., the muscular contractions of giving birth

Etymology: OFr < L, labor, orig., hardship, pain, prob. < base of labi, to slip, totter: see lap

intransitive verb

  1. to work; toil
  2. to work hard; exert oneself to get or do something; strive
    1. to move slowly and with difficulty the car labored up the hill
    2. to pitch and roll heavily the ship labored in the rough sea
  4. to be afflicted or burdened with a liability or limitation (with under) to labor under a delusion
  5. to undergo, and suffer the pains of, childbirth

Etymology: ME laboren < OFr laborer < L laborare < the n.

transitive verb

to spend too much time and effort on; develop in too great detail to labor a point

Etymology: earlier elabour < Fr élaborer: see elaborate

labor Synonyms

labor

n.

  1. The act of doing work

    activity, toil, operation; see work 2.

  2. Work to be done

    task, employment, undertaking; see job 2.

  3. Exertion required in work

    effort, exertion, energy, industry, diligence, strain, stress, pull, push, drudgery, travail; see also effort 1, exercise 1.

  4. The body of workers

    laborers, employees, wage earners, workers, workingmen, operatives, proletariat, blue-collar workers, work force, labor force, working people, employee(s); see also labor union, worker.

    Antonyms employer*, capitalist, businessperson.

  5. Childbirth

    parturition, giving birth, contractions, labor pains; see birth 1.

labor Synonyms

labor

v.

work, toil, strive; see work 1.

labor Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • love: Your weekly news page is a labor of love!

Converse of object

  • induce: Starting that evening, and for the next day, different methods were tried to induce labor.
  • exploit: Is that because little corporations exploit labor or the consumer less?
  • force: In this modern, globalized world, forced labor is found on every continent, in every country, every economy.

Adjective modifier

  • organized: She called on all workers to join WAC, which bears the banner of organized labor.
  • unskilled: Among foreigners proceeding through British ports the proportion of skilled and unskilled labor is more evenly balanced.
  • premature: I had premature labor, spent 3 months on bed rest, then no action near due date with same daughter.
  • skilled: Machinery which intensified labor and deprived skilled labor of employment [ 8 ] .

Modifies a noun

  • unionsoptions: Policy in new labor unionsoptions and if you don't promised to solve.
  • organizer: Some are school teachers, labor organizers or students.
  • aristocracy: It will not foster a " labor aristocracy " with the proceeds reaped from a conquered Iraq.
  • union: For a long period of time he was also the head of a labor union.
  • bureaucracy: The labor bureaucracy is an integral part of bourgeois society.
  • participation: High rates will also place some limits on the labor force participation rates for women.

Noun used with modifier

  • preterm: Pregnant women infected with syphilis are also at increased risk for miscarriage, preterm labor, and stillbirth.
  • rand: Effects are primarily rand labor and outcomes probability of levels of care.
  • slave: Forty acres and two mules was promised 100 years ago as restitution for slave labor and mass murder of black people.
  • wage: Many of the formal factories get supplies from the informal factories where the majority of the children work as a wage labor.
labor Quotes

No tin hat brigade of goose-stepping vigilantes or bibblebabbling mob of blackguarding and corporation- paid scoundrels will prevent the onward march of labor, ordivert its purposetoplay itsnatural and rational part in the development of the economic, political, and social life of our nation.

—Lewis,John L(lewellyn)