labor-intensive

adjective

la·​bor-in·​ten·​sive ˈlā-bər-in-ˌten(t)-siv How to pronounce labor-intensive (audio)
: 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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The legacy equipment is also energy and labor-intensive. Kate Kealey, Des Moines Register, 6 Jan. 2026 There are typically waiting lists for some of the more labor-intensive work, such as the rebuilding of a transmission. Daniel Miller, Los Angeles Times, 6 Jan. 2026 Another is the 12-day, labor-intensive process of making brisket into pastrami. Max Scheinblum, Denver Post, 6 Jan. 2026 But those burials, and others that came a few hundred years after the pyre, were interred without this labor-intensive spectacle. Elizabeth Sawchuk, The Conversation, 1 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for labor-intensive

Word History

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of labor-intensive was in 1928

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Cite this Entry

“Labor-intensive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/labor-intensive. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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