Definitions for manual labour
man·u·al labour

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:4.8 / 4 votes

1. manual labor, manual labournoun

   labor done with the hands

WiktionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. manual labournoun

   Physical work done "by hand" (or using basic implements) instead of by machines.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Manual labour

   Manual labour (in Commonwealth English, manual labor in American English) or manual work is physical work done by humans, in contrast to labour by machines and working animals. It is most literally work done with the hands (the word manual coming from the Latin word for hand) and, by figurative extension, it is work done with any of the muscles and bones of the human body. For most of human prehistory and history, manual labour and its close cousin, animal labour, have been the primary ways that physical work has been accomplished. Mechanisation and automation, which reduce the need for human and animal labour in production, have existed for centuries, but it was only starting in the 18th and 19th centuries that they began to significantly expand and to change human culture. To be implemented, they require that sufficient technology exist and that its capital costs be justified by the amount of future wages that they will obviate. Semi-automation is an alternative to worker displacement that combines human labour, automation, and computerization to leverage the advantages of both man and machine. Although nearly any work can potentially have skill and intelligence applied to it, many jobs that mostly comprise manual labour—such as fruit and vegetable picking, manual materials handling (for example, shelf stocking), manual digging, or manual assembly of parts—often may be done successfully (if not masterfully) by unskilled or semiskilled workers. For these reasons, there is a partial but significant correlation between manual labour and unskilled or semiskilled workers. Based on economic and social conflict of interest, people may often distort that partial correlation into an exaggeration that equates manual labour with lack of skill; with lack of any potential to apply skill (to a task) or to develop skill (in a worker); and with low social class. Throughout human existence the latter has involved a spectrum of variants, from slavery (with stigmatisation of the slaves as 'subhuman'), to caste or caste-like systems, to subtler forms of inequality. Economic competition often results in businesses trying to buy labour at the lowest possible cost (for example, through offshoring or by employing foreign workers) or to obviate it entirely (through mechanisation and automation).

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. manual labour

   Manual labour refers to work that involves physical efforts and skills carried out by individuals using their hands, tools, or machinery instead of intellectual or automated tasks. It typically entails tasks such as lifting, carrying, digging, assembling, operating machinery, or any other type of physical work that requires physical exertion rather than cognitive or creative abilities. Manual labour is often associated with various industries like construction, agriculture, manufacturing, and other hands-on occupations.

WikidataRate this definition:4.1 / 13 votes

1. Manual labour

   Manual labour or manual work is physical work done by people, most especially in contrast to that done by machines, and also to that done by working animals. It is most literally work done with the hands, and, by figurative extension, it is work done with any of the muscles and bones of the body. For most of human prehistory and history, manual labour and its close cousin, animal labour, have been the primary ways that physical work has been accomplished. Mechanisation and automation, which reduce the need for human and animal labour in production, have existed for centuries, but it was only starting in the 19th century that they began to significantly expand and to change human culture. To be implemented, they require that sufficient technology exist and that its capital costs be justified by the amount of future wages that they will obviate. Although nearly any work can potentially have skill and intelligence applied to it, many jobs that mostly comprise manual labour—such as fruit and vegetable picking, manual materials handling, manual digging, or manual assembly of parts—often may be done successfully by unskilled or semiskilled workers. Thus there is a partial but significant correlation between manual labour and unskilled or semiskilled workers. Based on economic and social conflict of interest, people may often distort that partial correlation into an exaggeration that equates manual labour with lack of skill; with lack of any potential to apply skill or to develop skill; and with low social class. Throughout human existence the latter has involved a spectrum of variants, from slavery, to caste or caste-like systems, to subtler forms of inequality.

Matched Categories

1. • Labor

How to pronounce manual labour?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say manual labour in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of manual labour in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of manual labour in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of manual labour in a Sentence

1. Donald Walker:

   If you have a high labour, easy-to-ship part, it has already gone, for the most part, to a low-cost jurisdiction, a bigger issue is how fast do you have intelligent robotics replace manual labour everywhere in the world.

2. Mahathir Mohamad:

   Before we needed jobs, so people who had huge assembly lines employing manual labour, they were welcome. But now we want intellectual workers.

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=manual labour
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Manual_Labour
3. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manual_Labour
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=manual labour