1
as in job
a dull, unpleasant, or difficult piece of work
one of the labors of Hercules in classical mythology was to clean out the stables of King Augeas
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in effort
the active use of energy in producing a result
a superhuman amount of labor must have gone into designing and building the pyramids of Egypt
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in toil
very hard or unpleasant work
a political dissident forced to do six months of hard labor in the salt mines as punishment
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4
as in childbirth
the act or process of giving birth to children
the mother's labor lasted for six hours
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5
as in production
something produced by physical or intellectual effort
a small, personal film that was clearly a labor of love for the director and actors
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as in to struggle
to devote serious and sustained effort
the young lawyer labored most of the weekend over the difficult legal brief
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of labor
Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 11 Nov. 2025
In the past few years, multiple states have introduced or enacted legislation that relaxes child-labor laws; in Iowa, for example, a fourteen-year-old now has the opportunity to work in an industrial laundry or a meat freezer.
—Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 11 Nov. 2025
Jeff Faraudo, Mercury News, 18 Oct. 2025
At 41 weeks, she was induced and labored for hours before doctors determined an emergency C-section was necessary.
—Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 14 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for labor
Noun
Another labor of love is Guillory’s small batch men’s brand, A New Medium (ANM).
—Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 11 Nov. 2025
In the past few years, multiple states have introduced or enacted legislation that relaxes child-labor laws; in Iowa, for example, a fourteen-year-old now has the opportunity to work in an industrial laundry or a meat freezer.
—Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 11 Nov. 2025
Verb
The Bears labored much of the rest of the evening.
—Jeff Faraudo, Mercury News, 18 Oct. 2025
At 41 weeks, she was induced and labored for hours before doctors determined an emergency C-section was necessary.
—Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 14 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for labor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for labor
Noun
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Essentially, your job is to compile a paper trail that proves your chain of heritage going back to your grandparent is intact.—
Katie Jackson,
Travel + Leisure,
11 Nov. 2025
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The head of the air traffic controllers union emphasized this week that the controllers were not walking off the job as part of an organized protest and were committed to their work.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
11 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Even as federal funding resumes, local colleges, businesses and nonprofits are joining county agencies in maintaining relief efforts for as long as Sacramento-area residents need them.—
Cathie Anderson,
Sacbee.com,
12 Nov. 2025
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The first Black cemetery in Tarrant County, home to the remains of more than 500 veterans, was rededicated on Veterans Day after a months-long restoration effort.—
Lillie Davidson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
12 Nov. 2025
Noun
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How Tielemans overcame early toils is often used as a source of encouragement by new additions who seem peripheral at first.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
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But to borrow Manidis’s framework, the drive to create such a tool conflates useless toil with meaningful labor.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Kanto practitioners believe that women cannot participate because, according to Japan's Shinto religion, women's blood from menstruation and childbirth is considered impure for the purpose of religious rituals.—
Anthony Kuhn,
NPR,
3 Nov. 2025
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Brutal childbirth has increasingly become TV shorthand for the burden of being a woman.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Shell production is beginning to expand, as aresubsystems for cruise missiles, drones, and other weapons, although the production of air defenses remains deficient.—
Jack Watling,
Foreign Affairs,
11 Nov. 2025
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Her work primarily focuses on monitoring the oil and gas industry, assessing its impacts and educating community members about production and regulation.—
Arlyssa D. Becenti,
AZCentral.com,
11 Nov. 2025
Verb
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And problems continue despite the flight cancellations designed to relieve stress on controllers struggling to deal with the shutdown.—
Emma Tucker,
CNN Money,
8 Nov. 2025
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Entry-level workers experiment freely and the C-suite sees strategic value, yet middle managers often struggle to bridge the gap.—
Feon Ang,
Fortune,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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For the patents on some of Novo Nordisk’s hero products in certain regions to be running out is an inevitable headache—companies can only hold them for so long before competitors are able to launch their own products.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
6 Nov. 2025
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Symptoms may include diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches or other ailments.—
Anna Skinner,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The team envisions this work accelerating the transition from laboratory prototypes to large-scale production, aligning closely with the nation’s carbon peaking and neutrality targets.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Nov. 2025
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Max Olson is writer-director and video artist based in New York & Los Angeles whose work aims to hold up a mirror to the restrictive structures of our world with an eye toward transcendence.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
10 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Labor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/labor. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
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