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.
Unionized workers at a Michigan plant producing a key component for General Motors GM -5.21%decrease; down pointing triangle trucks have reached a tentative agreement for a new labor contract following a 10-day strike.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
The health insurance impact on young workers from AI disruption is likely to lag labor market trends, and “may not fully translate into employer-sponsored coverage loss” until 2028 to 2030, Barclays estimates.
From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026
Prices for things like lawn care, pet care and laundry services have gone up more than usual due to a scarcity of labor and continued high demand.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 10, 2026
Riley crafting a cogent message about workers’ rights and the price of labor would be a feat in and of itself, especially in a film this fun.
From Salon • Jun. 10, 2026
Sancho said they were prisoners on their way to do hard labor on the king's galley ships.
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
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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