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.
See Examples For:
Warsh said the labor market was in generally good shape, adding that inflation was inextricably linked to economic prosperity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
The company in March as part of a settlement admitted it had violated federal labor law when it hassled employees and agreed to pay $50,000 to the fired worker.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
Organized by veteran civil rights leader Al Sharpton and led by King's son Martin Luther King III, the demonstration drew support from more than 90 civil rights, labor, faith and community organizations.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
The new BLS estimate doesn’t alter the picture of what economists call a “low-hire, low-fire” labor market.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026
Their plantations and businesses would not earn enough money to support the cost of operating these large properties if they shifted to paid labor.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
He labors seven days a week as a construction worker, but goes out dancing every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 4, 2026
In New York, this month brings a wealth of opportunities to appreciate the fruits of these labors, principally at the Museum of Modern Art’s annual festival of film preservation, “To Save and Project.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 14, 2026
After all, since 1776, millions of Irishmen and women and their descendants have helped make America great through their labors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025
A friend gave her a wire bakers rack and Scott started to fill it with the fruits of her labors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2025
Again and again the companions returned to their labors until they lay breathless and exhausted.
From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
The noise of backhoes, cranes and bulldozers echoed across Colombia's quake-hit cities on Sunday as workers labored to remove rubble, though the chance of finding survivors was slim a week after the disaster.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
These unsung masters labored on the magnificent frescoes that cover virtually every inch of the two-story Basilica di San Francesco in Assisi.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
Last Thanksgiving, Megan Thee Stallion labored for days to prepare an elaborate holiday dinner for then-boyfriend Klay Thompson and his family.
From Salon ● Apr. 30, 2026
In many years on dairy farms, the worker often labored for 10 hours with no breaks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026
Meggie turned hesitantly to look at him as Elinor's car labored up the last hill.
From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke
You probably know it already — you’ve seen oil pumpjacks laboring away in nutty places, like on the La Cienega Boulevard shortcut through Baldwin Hills to the airport.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
Montiel, 62, said Chavez’s legacy continues to reverberate as the union has pushed for improved working conditions for people laboring in extreme heat, at times without adequate breaks or water.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2026
They were checking on their fleets of AI assistants to make sure they were still laboring away.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
"For decades, while laboring in the vineyards of the community, he inspired us to keep hope alive in the struggle for liberty and justice for all," the Democrat said.
From BBC ● Feb. 17, 2026
Twice the midwife refused to come to laboring mothers who had nothing to pay, and so the unfortunate women had to bring forth their babies with none but a neighbor to help.
From "The Midwife's Apprentice" by Karen Cushman
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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