What does “labor” mean?
- 1
nounwork, especially hard physical work, or the workers who do it
The country has a shortage of skilled labor.
- 2
nounthe process of giving birth
She went into labor at midnight.
- 3
verbto work hard or do something with great effort
They labored for hours to clear the road.
Labor at a glance
- Part of speech
- noun & verb
- CEFR level
- B2 (upper intermediate)
- Pronunciation
- /ˈleɪbər/ · LAY-ber
How to use “labor” correctly
US spelling is “labor”; UK spelling is “labour”. “Labor the point” means to keep explaining something already clear.
Common phrases with “labor”
- manual labor
- cheap labor
- labor market
- go into labor
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Word family
- laborer
- laborious
- labor-saving
“labor” is on these word lists
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