Definitions for labor
ˈleɪ bərla·bor

Princeton's WordNet(3.93 / 24 votes)Rate this definition:

1. labor, labour, working class, proletariatnoun

   a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages

   "there is a shortage of skilled labor in this field"

2. labor, labour, toilnoun

   productive work (especially physical work done for wages)

   "his labor did not require a great deal of skill"

3. parturiency, labor, labour, confinement, lying-in, travail, childbednoun

   concluding state of pregnancy; from the onset of contractions to the birth of a child

   "she was in labor for six hours"

4. labor movement, trade union movement, labornoun

   an organized attempt by workers to improve their status by united action (particularly via labor unions) or the leaders of this movement

5. British Labour Party, Labour Party, Labour, Labornoun

   a political party formed in Great Britain in 1900; characterized by the promotion of labor's interests and formerly the socialization of key industries

6. Department of Labor, Labor Department, Labor, DoLnoun

   the federal department responsible for promoting the working conditions of wage earners in the United States; created in 1913

7. undertaking, project, task, laborverb

   any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted

   "he prepared for great undertakings"

8. tug, labor, labour, push, driveverb

   strive and make an effort to reach a goal

   "She tugged for years to make a decent living"; "We have to push a little to make the deadline!"; "She is driving away at her doctoral thesis"

9. labor, labour, toil, fag, travail, grind, drudge, dig, moilverb

   work hard

   "She was digging away at her math homework"; "Lexicographers drudge all day long"

10. labor, labourverb

    undergo the efforts of childbirth

Wiktionary(2.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. labornoun

   Effort expended on a particular task; toil, work.

2. labornoun

   Workers collectively; the workforce; the working class.

3. labornoun

   The labor union movement; organized labor.

4. labornoun

   The act of a mother giving birth or the time period during which a mother gives birth.

5. laborverb

   spelling of labour; see British/Commonwealth entry for definitions, etymology, pronunciation, translations, etc.

6. Labornoun

   The Australian Labor Party.

Webster Dictionary(4.00 / 3 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Labornoun

   physical toil or bodily exertion, especially when fatiguing, irksome, or unavoidable, in distinction from sportive exercise; hard, muscular effort directed to some useful end, as agriculture, manufactures, and like; servile toil; exertion; work

   Etymology: [OE. labouren, F. labourer, L. laborare. See Labor, n.]

2. Labornoun

   intellectual exertion; mental effort; as, the labor of compiling a history

   Etymology: [OE. labouren, F. labourer, L. laborare. See Labor, n.]

3. Labornoun

   that which requires hard work for its accomplishment; that which demands effort

   Etymology: [OE. labouren, F. labourer, L. laborare. See Labor, n.]

4. Labornoun

   travail; the pangs and efforts of childbirth

   Etymology: [OE. labouren, F. labourer, L. laborare. See Labor, n.]

5. Labornoun

   any pang or distress

   Etymology: [OE. labouren, F. labourer, L. laborare. See Labor, n.]

6. Labornoun

   the pitching or tossing of a vessel which results in the straining of timbers and rigging

   Etymology: [OE. labouren, F. labourer, L. laborare. See Labor, n.]

7. Labornoun

   a measure of land in Mexico and Texas, equivalent to an area of 177/ acres

   Etymology: [OE. labouren, F. labourer, L. laborare. See Labor, n.]

8. Labornoun

   to exert muscular strength; to exert one's strength with painful effort, particularly in servile occupations; to work; to toil

   Etymology: [OE. labouren, F. labourer, L. laborare. See Labor, n.]

9. Labornoun

   to exert one's powers of mind in the prosecution of any design; to strive; to take pains

   Etymology: [OE. labouren, F. labourer, L. laborare. See Labor, n.]

10. Labornoun

    to be oppressed with difficulties or disease; to do one's work under conditions which make it especially hard, wearisome; to move slowly, as against opposition, or under a burden; to be burdened; -- often with under, and formerly with of

    Etymology: [OE. labouren, F. labourer, L. laborare. See Labor, n.]

11. Labornoun

    to be in travail; to suffer the pangs of childbirth

    Etymology: [OE. labouren, F. labourer, L. laborare. See Labor, n.]

12. Labornoun

    to pitch or roll heavily, as a ship in a turbulent sea

    Etymology: [OE. labouren, F. labourer, L. laborare. See Labor, n.]

13. Laborverb

    to work at; to work; to till; to cultivate by toil

    Etymology: [OE. labouren, F. labourer, L. laborare. See Labor, n.]

14. Laborverb

    to form or fabricate with toil, exertion, or care

    Etymology: [OE. labouren, F. labourer, L. laborare. See Labor, n.]

15. Laborverb

    to prosecute, or perfect, with effort; to urge stre/uously; as, to labor a point or argument

    Etymology: [OE. labouren, F. labourer, L. laborare. See Labor, n.]

16. Laborverb

    to belabor; to beat

    Etymology: [OE. labouren, F. labourer, L. laborare. See Labor, n.]

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. labor

   The act and process of work or employment.

   The local labor laws were very effective.

   Submitted by MaryC on March 8, 2020  

Matched Categories

1. • Class
   • Executive Department
   • Labor Party
   • Reform Movement
   • Undergo
   • Work

Anagrams for labor »

1. lobar

2. Balor

How to pronounce labor?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say labor in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of labor in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of labor in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of labor in a Sentence

1. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn:

   In the 2017 election, there were queues of experts ... lining up at the beginning of the campaign to write off the Labor Party, and what happened then?

2. Brenda Smith:

   The use of forced labor in supply chains is not acceptable to the United States, it is a requirement that the US importing community ensure that their supply chains are clean.

3. Saadia Maalim Mohamed:

   The school calendar is based around rainfall patterns, learning takes place during the rainy season when labor demand on the children is low and movement of communities is minimal.

4. Jo Becker:

   More worryingly, the pledge defers to national regulations when defining what constitutes hazardous labor, meaning that the work for those aged 15 to 18 is at the discretion of each grower or company.

5. Thomas Jefferson:

   Whenever there are in any country uncultivated lands and unemployed poor, it is clear that the laws of property have been so far extended as to violate natural right. The earth is given as a common stock for man to labor and live on. The small landowners are the most precious part of a state.

Images & Illustrations of labor

Popularity rank by frequency of use