labor
Usage
What are other ways to say labor?
Labor particularly denotes hard manual work: backbreaking labor; arduous labor. Drudgery suggests continuous, dreary, and dispiriting work, especially of a menial or servile kind: the drudgery of household tasks. Toil suggests wearying or exhausting labor: toil that breaks down the worker's health. Work is the general word and may apply to exertion that is either easy or hard: fun work; heavy work.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“While prices have come down from their peak, businesses are still facing higher costs for labor, transportation and energy, and some of those costs will eventually find their way to consumers,” he said.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 11, 2026
The good news is that labor costs more broadly appear well-contained.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 10, 2026
But this year’s wins follow a wave of labor actions in 2025, including strikes by nurses, grocery workers, Boeing machinists and Starbucks employees.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026
Trade Representative’s Office concluded one Section 301 investigation into forced labor, prop osing 10% to 12.5% tariffs on 60 economies, which are expected to take effect mid-July.
From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026
Free from the BDM and compulsory labor service, her new life had begun at last.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Vocabulary lists containing labor
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Labor Day Lexicon: Words That Put You To Work
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Working Together: The Language of Unions
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