labor

[ ley-ber ]

/ ˈleɪ bər /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR labor ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

productive activity, especially for the sake of economic gain.

the body of persons engaged in such activity, especially those working for wages.

this body of persons considered as a class (distinguished from management and capital).

physical or mental work, especially of a hard or fatiguing kind; toil.

a job or task done or to be done.

the physical effort and periodic uterine contractions of childbirth.

the interval from the onset of these contractions to childbirth.

(initial capital letter) Also called Labor Department. Informal. the Department of Labor.

verb (used without object)

to perform labor; exert one's powers of body or mind; work; toil.

to strive, as toward a goal; work hard (often followed by for): to labor for peace.

to act, behave, or function at a disadvantage (usually followed by under): to labor under a misapprehension.

to be in the actual process of giving birth.

to roll or pitch heavily, as a ship.

verb (used with object)

to develop or dwell on in excessive detail: Don't labor the point.

to burden or tire: to labor the reader with unnecessary detail.

British Dialect. to work or till (soil or the like).

adjective

of or relating to workers, their associations, or working conditions: labor reforms.

Also especially British, la·bour.

Origin of labor

1250–1300; Middle English labour < Middle French < Latin labōr- (stem of labor) work

SYNONYMS FOR labor

2 working people, working class.

4 exertion.

6 parturition, delivery.

9 drudge.

14 overdo.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR labor ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR labor

1, 4 idleness; leisure.

1, 4, 9 rest.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR labor ON THESAURUS.COM

synonym study for labor

4. See work.

historical usage of labor

The English noun labor comes into English via Old French labor, labour (French labeur ) from Latin labōr-, the inflectional stem of the noun labor “labor, work, toil.” The Latin noun has just about all the meanings of English labor (including that of childbirth), but not the relatively modern English sense “workers, manual workers taken together as a social group or class,” which dates from the 19th century.
The Latin etymology for labor is obscure: the noun may be related to the verb lābī (which has a long ā ) “to move smoothly, slide” (commonly with implication of downward movement). Lābī in its turn may be related to labāre (with a short a in the root syllable) “to be unsteady on one’s feet, falter, totter.” These derivatives of lāb- and lab- may be related to the Latin nouns labium (the source of English labial ) and labrum, both meaning “lip” and, outside Latin, to the Greek noun lobós “lobe (of the ear, liver, or lung), pod (of a vegetable), slip (of a plant)” (and source of English lobe ).

OTHER WORDS FROM labor

la·bor·ing·ly, adverb la·bor·less, adjective an·ti·la·bor, adjective non·la·bor, adjective

out·la·bor, verb (used with object) o·ver·la·bor, verb (used with object) pre·la·bor, noun, verb (used without object) pro·la·bor, adjective un·la·bor·ing, adjective

Words nearby labor

labiovelarize, labioversion, labium, lablab, labneh, labor, labor and socialist international, labor camp, labor day, labor force, labor market

Definition for labor (2 of 2)

labor omnia vincit

[ lah-bohr ohm-nee-ah wing-kit; English ley-ber om-nee-uh vin-sit ]

/ ˈlɑ boʊr ˈoʊm niˌɑ ˈwɪŋ kɪt; English ˈleɪ bər ˈɒm ni ə ˈvɪn sɪt /

Latin.

work conquers all: motto of Oklahoma.

Example sentences from the Web for labor

Expensive day care pushes women out of the labor market while men continue to work outside the home.

How Good Dads Can Change the World |Gary Barker, PhD, Michael Kaufman |January 6, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
Public sector unions have also fractured the labor movement itself.

How Public Sector Unions Divide the Democrats |Daniel DiSalvo |December 29, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
In Turkey, crime groups in border areas are exploiting the labor of Syrian male refugees who cannot find legitimate employment.

ISIS, Boko Haram, and the Growing Role of Human Trafficking in 21st Century Terrorism |Louise I. Shelley |December 26, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
In the summer of 2014, they both were sentenced to 4-1/2 years in a labor camp.

Behind Bars for the Holidays: 11 Political Prisoners We Want to See Free In 2015 |Movements.Org |December 25, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

“When you attack public sector unions now, you are attacking the heart of the U.S. labor movement,” says Dine.

The GOP and Police Unions: A Love Story |Eleanor Clift |December 12, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
I discovered that they kept no cattle, nor animals of any kind for food or labor.

Mizora: A Prophecy |Mary E. Bradley
Why was he not strong in health and body like the people about him, and yet for whom did he wish to labor?

Jack |Alphonse Daudet
Burial became too gigantic a labor, and John and Simon ordered the bodies thrown over the walls to prevent pestilence.

The City of Delight |Elizabeth Miller
And to my mother I send compensation for my dead brother's labor.

Dust of New York |Konrad Bercovici
Before the men were taken to the various places of labor, they were ranged in single file, and their numbers called out.

A Lover in Homespun |F. Clifford Smith

British Dictionary definitions for labor

labor

/ (ˈleɪbə) /

verb, noun

the US spelling of labour

Medical definitions for labor

labor

[ lā′bər ]

n.

The physical efforts of expulsion of the fetus and the placenta from the uterus during parturition.

v.

To undergo the efforts of childbirth.

Scientific definitions for labor

labor

[ lā′bər ]

The process by which the birth of a mammal occurs, beginning with contractions of the uterus and ending with the expulsion of the fetus and the placenta.

Cultural definitions for labor

labor

The physical processes at the end of a normal pregnancy, including opening of the cervix and contractions of the uterus, that lead to the birth of the baby.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

labor