labour
noun · verb
Simple meaning
An effort expended on a particular task.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
laybowrSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈleɪbaʊɹ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
An effort expended on a particular task; toil, work.
That which requires hard work for its accomplishment; that which demands effort.
Productive work (especially physical work done for wages)
“His labor did not require a great deal of skill.”
uncountable
A political party or force aiming or claiming to represent the interests of labour.
uncountable
Workers in general; the working class, the workforce; sometimes specifically the labour movement, organised labour.
A political party formed in Great Britain in 1900; characterized by the promotion of labor's interests and formerly the socialization of key industries
verb
To be oppressed with difficulties or disease; to do one's work under conditions which make it especially hard or wearisome; to move slowly, as against opposition, or under a burden.
intransitive
To toil, to work.
To suffer the pangs of childbirth.
transitive
To belabour, to emphasise or expand upon (a point in a debate, etc).
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: An effort expended on a particular task; toil, work.
Used this way, labour is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- labor , used mainly in Regional English
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Someone who works with their hands.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Productive work performed voluntarily without material reward or compensation.
A political party formed in Great Britain in 1900.
A regularly recurrent spasm of pain that is characteristic of childbirth.
A penal institution for political prisoners who are used as forced labor.
A political party formed in Great Britain in 1900.
A laborer who works by the day.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
noun
Sense: effort expended on a particular task
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “labour” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.