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
Thomas Kennedy, The Orlando Sentinel, 7 Jan. 2026
These attempts to keep down the unquiet dead were, besides being desecrations, exercises in a lot of heavy and often forbidden labor done on decaying bodies.
—Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 7 Jan. 2026
Troy Renck, Denver Post, 22 Dec. 2025
Women labored tirelessly alongside men in the fields, performed domestic work in households, advised young men to save money and go to school, and built and maintained networks that sustained local communities and transpacific ties back home in the Philippines.
—Sam Vong, The Conversation, 18 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for labor
Noun
Paradoxically, the same workers who are exploited for their labor while paying into benefits for other Americans and getting nothing in return themselves are demonized and subject to an increasingly hostile enforcement regime.
—Thomas Kennedy, The Orlando Sentinel, 7 Jan. 2026
These attempts to keep down the unquiet dead were, besides being desecrations, exercises in a lot of heavy and often forbidden labor done on decaying bodies.
—Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 7 Jan. 2026
Verb
For three months, the Broncos have labored, winning ugly, Payton dismissing criticism about style points and practically imploring everyone to ignore everything but the final results.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 22 Dec. 2025
Women labored tirelessly alongside men in the fields, performed domestic work in households, advised young men to save money and go to school, and built and maintained networks that sustained local communities and transpacific ties back home in the Philippines.
—Sam Vong, The Conversation, 18 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for labor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for labor
Noun
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But again, as of late, Jalen has been doing a great job of making plays for us.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
8 Jan. 2026
-
The TikTok guy will even teach you how to use the tools required for the job.—
Nolan Finley The Detroit News,
Arkansas Online,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Her defensive effort led to a transition 3-pointer for Maddie Scherr that electrified the home crowd for TCU.—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
8 Jan. 2026
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There is currently no information about the containment efforts for the fire and its cause has yet to be determined.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
His account reveals an author searching for his true self and finding it, amid unceasing toil, in the act of observation.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
5 Jan. 2026
-
The Premier League has brought toil.—
The Athletic UK Staff,
New York Times,
2 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
EngineAI confirmed that its production models are powered by NVIDIA Jetson Thor, providing up to 2000 TOPS of AI compute, along with a 360-degree LiDAR perception system.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Jan. 2026
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Reliability, flexibility, and fast, on time delivery guide development, with specifications tailored to local markets and customers, from last mile hubs and national distribution to cold storage, production facilities, and data centres.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
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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The illness tends to come on abruptly, with symptoms including fever, sore throat, headaches and fatigue.—
Paula Wethington,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
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Symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headaches, fatigue, vomiting and diarrhea.—
Jason Green,
Mercury News,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
By 1996, Joe broke through in commercial work and got into television.—
Angela Andaloro,
PEOPLE,
7 Jan. 2026
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Actions define how Qira gets work done.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Labor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/labor. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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