labor

Plurallabors

Formslabors, laboring, labored

1. 1
   effortnouncountable or uncountable

   Work or effort, especially hard and tiring work; also a task that takes such work, as in 'a labor of love'.

   The estimate for the new roof covers both materials and labor.

   After the harvest, the farmhands finally rested from their labors.

   UsageNo a for work that is spent or paid for (materials and labor); a labor is one hard task: a labor of love.

   Similarwork, toil, effort, exertion

   Oppositerest, leisure

   Note

   The core sense of work and effort came through Old French from Latin labor. Middle English already wrote labor, labour and labur, so the American -or spelling is old, not new; Defoe writes Labour in 1719. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Middle English had the spellings labor, labour and labur, so labor predates modern American spelling conventions. en.wiktionary.org
   • Defoe used the spelling Labour in 1719, in the first publication of Robinson Crusoe. en.wiktionary.org
   • The original text contains the capitalized spelling Labour. archive.org
2. 2
   noununcountable

   Workers considered as a group, such as the workforce or the working class, and sometimes more narrowly the organized labor movement.

   Relations between labor and management improved after the new contract was signed.

   Organized labor campaigned hard for a higher minimum wage.

   UsageNo article: labor and management, organized labor. Before a noun: a labor union.

   Similarworkers, workforce, employees

   Oppositemanagement

   Note

   The collective sense takes no article and is often paired with management: labor and management bargain, and organized labor means the unions. Before another noun it marks the workers' side, as in a labor union, and W. B. Maxwell's The Mirror and the Lamp tells of a row over "unskilled labour men." Lowercase, it is the workers; capitalized, it becomes a party's name. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

   • W. B. Maxwell wrote The Mirror and the Lamp. en.wiktionary.org
   • The novel describes a row about workers using the exact phrase unskilled labour men. en.wiktionary.org
3. 3
   childbirthnouncountable or uncountable

   The process of giving birth to a child, or the time it takes.

   Doctors decided to induce labor because the baby was two weeks overdue.

   She was in labor for fourteen hours before her son was born.

   UsageSet phrases: go into labor, be in labor, induce labor.

   Similarchildbirth, delivery, birth

   Note

   Medicine uses the word for the whole process of birth: the womb contracts, the cervix opens, and the baby and then the placenta are delivered. Doctors induce labor when they start it artificially, and call it preterm when it begins too soon. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Medical labor includes uterine contractions, cervical dilation, and delivery of the baby followed by the placenta. womenshealth.gov
   • Induction means starting labor artificially. nhs.uk
   • Labor beginning too early is called preterm labor. medlineplus.gov
4. 4
   work hardverbintransitive

   To do work, especially hard and tiring work.

   Her grandparents labored in the vineyards from dawn to dusk.

   Editors labor over every sentence before the magazine goes to print.

   UsageOften labor over a task or labor in a place: labor over every sentence.

   Similarwork, toil, slave, sweat, strive

   Oppositerest, relax, idle

5. 5
   political partynoununcountable

   A political party or force that aims, or claims, to represent the interests of workers.

   Labor's share of the vote rose sharply in the industrial towns.

   Labor walked out of the coalition over the budget, and the government fell.

   UsageCapitalized, with no article: Labor won the seat. Britain's party is spelled Labour.

   Note

   The spelling depends on the party. Australia's is the Australian Labor Party, written with -or, while Britain's is Labour, and writing Labor for the British party is a misspelling. Check which country a sentence is about before choosing the form. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Australia's party is named the Australian Labor Party, with Labor spelled with -or. alp.org.au
   • The British party's name uses Labour, rather than Labor. labour.org.uk
6. 6
   political partyproper noun · LaborAustralia

   The Australian Labor Party, a major political party in Australia.

   Labor has traditionally drawn much of its support from Australia's trade unions and working-class suburbs.

   Whenever Labor forms government in Canberra, its leader becomes Australia's prime minister.

   UsageNo article, like a team name: Labor won the seat, Labor's leader.

   Note

   The ALP is the more formal short form. The -or spelling belongs to the Australian party; Britain's party is Labour, and writing Labor for the British party is a misspelling. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • ALP is an official abbreviation of Australian Labor Party. aec.gov.au
   • The Australian party's name uses the spelling Labor. alp.org.au
   • The British party's name is Labour; Labor would misspell that name. labour.org.uk
7. 7
   verbintransitive

   To struggle under difficulties or move slowly with great effort, as a ship pitching and rolling in rough seas.

   For years the small airline labored under heavy debt and rising fuel costs.

   Heavily loaded trucks labor up the mountain pass at walking speed.

   UsageWith under for a burden (labored under debt) and up for a slope (labor up the pass).

   Similarstruggle, toil, strain, plod

   Note

   Something pushes back in this sense, and a preposition usually says what. With under, it names a burden borne over time: Walter Scott writes of "the disorder under which he laboured." With up, it pictures slow strain against a slope, like Granville's "stone that labours up the hill." Pope turns it on verse itself: "The line too labours, and the words move slow." Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

   • Walter Scott wrote the quoted words in the narration of Kenilworth. gutenberg.org
   • George Granville wrote the quoted phrase in Love. en.wiktionary.org
   • Alexander Pope wrote the quoted line about verse in An Essay on Criticism. gutenberg.org

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