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.

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Flewellen flashes back to middle school in South Miami, where a teacher made a point of stressing that Africans enslaved other Africans, as if that somehow absolved the U.S. from the buying, selling and forced labor of Black people. —Tyrone Beasonstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2023

Both companies were among the Japanese businesses that relied on Korean forced labor during the war and were named in the lawsuit brought before the Supreme Court. —Choe Sang-hun, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Mar. 2023

Both companies were among the Japanese businesses that relied on Korean forced labor during the war and were named in the lawsuit brought before the Supreme Court. —Choe Sang-hun, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2023

There are forced labor considerations associated with modules. —Jason Kaminsky, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2023

Legal Definition

forced labor

noun

: the act of providing or obtaining the labor of a person by use of or threat of force, physical restraint, serious harm (as physical, psychological, financial, or reputational), or abuse of legal process