forced labor
noun
1
: very hard physical work that someone is forced to do
The prisoners endured years of forced labor.
2
: a group of people who are made to work very hard for no money
also
: a system that allows this
The railroad was built with/by forced labor.
Examples of forced labor in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Sharecropping and the convict lease system essentially re-enslaved many by trapping them in cycles of debt and forced labor; segregation laws relegated Blacks to separate public facilities and schools; poll taxes, literacy tests, and other barriers eroded access to the ballot.
—
Time, 15 Oct. 2025
Although Russia is a militant autocracy, the reason for Putin’s lifetime presidency isn’t gulags, mass executions, or forced labor.
—Andrew Ryvkin, The Atlantic, 14 Oct. 2025
The most notorious of these was Shark Island, on the southern coast of Namibia, said to be the world’s first death camp, where forced labor, hunger, and exposure were used to exterminate the country’s Indigenous population.
—Aatish Taseer, Travel + Leisure, 13 Oct. 2025
Their accounts echo reports by rights groups and investigative journalists into India's shrimp industry, which found widespread underpayment, exploitation of vulnerable migrants and even forced labor.
—Diaa Hadid, NPR, 23 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for forced labor
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Time, 15 Oct. 2025
Although Russia is a militant autocracy, the reason for Putin’s lifetime presidency isn’t gulags, mass executions, or forced labor.
—Andrew Ryvkin, The Atlantic, 14 Oct. 2025
The most notorious of these was Shark Island, on the southern coast of Namibia, said to be the world’s first death camp, where forced labor, hunger, and exposure were used to exterminate the country’s Indigenous population.
—Aatish Taseer, Travel + Leisure, 13 Oct. 2025
Their accounts echo reports by rights groups and investigative journalists into India's shrimp industry, which found widespread underpayment, exploitation of vulnerable migrants and even forced labor.
—Diaa Hadid, NPR, 23 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for forced labor
Cite this Entry
“Forced labor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forced%20labor. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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