- la|bor
- la|bor «LAY buhr», noun, verb, adjective.–n.1. effort in doing or making something; work; toil: »
The carpenter was well paid for his labor. Labor disgraces no man (Ulysses S. Grant).
SYNONYM(S): exertion, effort. See syn. under work. (Cf. ↑work)2. a piece of work to be done; task: »The king gave Hercules twelve labors to perform. Our life is but a little holding, lent to do a mighty labour (George Meredith).
3. a) work, especially manual work, done by skilled and unskilled workers for wages: »Digging ditches is labor.
b) the work of human beings that produces goods or services. Land, labor, and capital are the three principal factors of production. »Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital (Abraham Lincoln).
4. a) skilled and unskilled workers as a group: »Labor favors safe working conditions. Labor's function is to join with…management in the common enterprise of meeting the needs of the universal consumer (Emory S. Bogardus).
b) labor unions as a group: »The traditional allies of labor, those who struggle for civil rights, social welfare, the needs of the poor,…should think of organized labor again as their first call for friends and for continuing significant support (Victor Gotbaum).
5. the physical exertions of childbirth before delivery: »She was in labor for two hours.
SYNONYM(S): parturition, travail.–v.i.2. to move slowly and heavily: »The old car labored as it climbed the steep hill.
3. to be burdened, troubled, or distressed: »to labor under a mistake or a handicap.
4. to be long and drawn out; be elaborate.5. to be in labor during childbirth.–v.t.1. to elaborate with effort or in detail: »The speaker labored the point so long that we lost interest.
2. Archaic. to till; cultivate.3. Archaic. to work or strive to bring about o achieve.–adj.of or having to do with labor: »a labor shortage, labor leaders.
Also, Especially British labour.╂[< Old French labour, learned borrowing from Latin labor, -ōris toil, pain]
Useful english dictionary. 2012.
