laboratory
noun
lab·o·ra·to·ry
ˈla-b(ə-)rə-ˌtȯr-ē 
sometimes ˈla-bər-ˌtȯr-,
or ˈla-bə-ˌtȯr-,
or lə-ˈbȯr-ə-ˌtȯr-
plural laboratories
often attributive
1
a
: a place equipped for experimental study in a science or for testing and analysis
a research laboratory
broadly
: a place providing opportunity for experimentation, observation, or practice in a field of study
b
: a place like a laboratory for testing, experimentation, or practice
That area is a laboratory for cultivating the germ of terrorism.
2
: an academic period set aside for laboratory work
a course of study requiring two lectures and one laboratory per week
Examples of laboratory in a Sentence
experiments conducted in a modern laboratory
Recent Examples on the Web
Researchers pointed out that in laboratory experiments, the glasses were placed in pure water at 90 degrees Celsius for up to 112 days.
—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2025
Studies have already shown that pollination and plant growth cycles would be disrupted by the amount of light that Reflect Orbital satellites would produce, in addition to the disruptions of bird migrations and the behaviors of animals under both laboratory and wild conditions.
—Big Think, 15 Oct. 2025
For example, researchers in China published findings in 2024 in which a female patient’s stem cells were taken from her body, chemically induced to differentiate into insulin-producing cells in the laboratory, and then reimplanted in her body.
—Tara Haelle, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2025
Antarctica seemed like the perfect laboratory to test this out.
—Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for laboratory
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Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2025
Studies have already shown that pollination and plant growth cycles would be disrupted by the amount of light that Reflect Orbital satellites would produce, in addition to the disruptions of bird migrations and the behaviors of animals under both laboratory and wild conditions.
—Big Think, 15 Oct. 2025
For example, researchers in China published findings in 2024 in which a female patient’s stem cells were taken from her body, chemically induced to differentiate into insulin-producing cells in the laboratory, and then reimplanted in her body.
—Tara Haelle, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2025
Antarctica seemed like the perfect laboratory to test this out.
—Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for laboratory
Cite this Entry
“Laboratory.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/laboratory. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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laboratory
noun
lab·o·ra·to·ry
ˈlab-(ə-)rə-ˌtōr-ē
-ˌtȯr-
-ˌtȯr-
plural laboratories
: a place equipped for making scientific experiments and tests
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