labor-intensive

adjective

la·​bor-in·​ten·​sive ˈlā-bər-in-ˌten(t)-siv 

: having high labor costs per unit of output

especially : requiring greater expenditure on labor than in capital

Examples of labor-intensive in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Instead of relying on rolling chassis to be dressed in custom, labor-intensive bodywork, manufacturers increasingly embraced monocoque construction, integrating body and chassis into a single all-in-one structure. — Robb Report, 9 Oct. 2026

The jobs ratio used to select productions appears to favor animation since the category is often more labor-intensive than live-action, generating higher below-the-line spending relative to the total production budget. — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2026

In all of these cases, however, separating the steel belt plies and bead cores from the rubber treads and sidewalls is a time- and labor-intensive process. — Ben Coxworth october 07, New Atlas, 7 Oct. 2026

The use of collaborative robots and AI inspection systems also reflects a broader push to automate labor-intensive manufacturing tasks. — Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for labor-intensive

• counteroffensive
• antihypertensive
• apprehensive
• coextensive
• comprehensive
• hypertensive
• hypotensive
• inexpensive
• inoffensive
• normotensive
• defensive
• expensive