Synonyms of labors

labors 1 of 2

noun

plural of labor

1

as in headaches

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

• headaches
• jobs
• efforts
• chores
• burdens
• killers
• beasts
• bears
• loads
• lucubrations
• drudgeries
• troubles
• nuisances
• strains
• weights
• sweats
• heavy liftings
• grinds
• bothers

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• breezes
• setups
• kid stuff
• duck soup
• snaps
• cinches
• child's play

2

as in efforts

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• efforts
• works
• pains
• exertions
• expenditures
• energies
• sweats
• troubles
• whiles
• toils
• elbow grease
• powers
• endeavors
• muscles
• tries
• travails
• strains
• drudgeries
• goes
• attempts
• forces
• essays
• slogs
• trials
• mights
• dints
• puissances
• passes
• grinds
• stabs
• flings
• shots
• whacks

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• facilities
• eases
• fluencies
• inertias
• inactions
• inactivities
• quiescences
• dormancies
• languors
• indolences

3

as in toils

very hard or unpleasant work

a political dissident forced to do six months of hard labor in the salt mines as punishment

Synonyms & Similar Words

• efforts
• toils
• exertions
• pains
• sweats
• fatigues
• drudgeries
• drudges
• slaveries
• struggles
• travails
• grinds
• responsibilities
• troubles
• moils
• duties
• donkeyworks
• obligations
• jobs
• chores
• spadeworks
• treadmills
• routines
• tediums

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• fun
• plays
• relaxations
• rests
• eases
• amusements
• reposes
• entertainments
• sports
• diversions
• recreations
• dalliances
• leisures
• decompressions
• inertias
• inactivities
• dormancies

4

as in childbirths

the act or process of giving birth to children

the mother's labor lasted for six hours

Synonyms & Similar Words

• childbirths
• pregnancies
• deliveries
• contractions
• pains
• travails
• parturitions
• accouchements
• childbearings
• birth pangs
• cesarean sections
• confinements
• natural childbirths
• childbeds
• lyings-in

5

as in products

something produced by physical or intellectual effort

a small, personal film that was clearly a labor of love for the director and actors

Synonyms & Similar Words

• products
• productions
• yields
• fruits
• works
• things
• results
• produces
• affairs
• outputs
• handiworks
• outcomes
• commodities
• objects
• resultants
• goods
• articles
• effects
• wares
• entries
• handicrafts
• consequences
• developments
• issues
• offspring
• merchandises
• side effects
• conclusions
• sequences
• derivatives
• handcrafts
• residuals
• lines
• aftermaths
• corollaries
• aftereffects
• sequels
• by-products
• offshoots
• upshots
• outgrowths
• spin-offs

labors

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of labor

as in struggles

to devote serious and sustained effort

the young lawyer labored most of the weekend over the difficult legal brief

Synonyms & Similar Words

• struggles
• strives
• works
• endeavors
• toils
• slaves
• tries
• tugs
• plows
• sweats
• hustles
• drudges
• travails
• grubs
• digs (away)
• pegs (away)
• humps
• slogs
• strains
• bangs away
• plugs
• plods
• fags
• sweats blood
• beavers (away)
• moils
• applies (oneself)
• buckles (down)
• attacks
• exercises
• hammers (away)
• essays
• knuckles down
• pitches in
• exerts
• overworks
• digs in
• drives
• scratches
• grinds (out)
• ekes out
• overexerts
• wades
• trudges
• puts out
• scrabbles

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• breaks
• slackens
• eases (up)
• loafs
• rests
• lets up
• shirks
• hangs (around or out)
• dallies
• idles
• chills
• lazes
• slacks (off)
• bums
• goldbricks
• reposes
• dillydallies
• goofs (off)
• lounges
• hacks (around)
• basks
• lolls
• unwinds
• relaxes
• trifles
• footles
• plays
• hangs
• vegges out
• fribbles
• dabbles
• hangs about
• doodles
• fools around
• messes around
• goofs (around)
• monkeys (around)
• potters (around)
• putters (around)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of labors

Noun

There’s a slickness to the carnage that rubs uncomfortably against the film’s humanist ethos, rendering artificial (for all Shen Teng’s trembling and mouth-contorting labors) the horrific tragedies that befall its characters. — Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026

In these labors, Carson is akin to two other recent laureates, Jon Fosse and László Krasznahorkai, our foremost writers of holy fools. — Merve Emre, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2026

Teaching and coaching are labors of love passed down from Lee’s father, Robert, who spent his career coaching and teaching students in Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools. — Pj Green august 27, Kansas City Star, 27 Aug. 2026

Exclusion generates the prestige toward which unpaid labors strive. — M. C. Mah, Literary Hub, 19 Aug. 2026

Do not restrict yourself from enjoying the rewards of your labors. — Lisa Stardust, Vogue, 10 Aug. 2026

As emails and text messages tug at our sleeves, even a short lull in the labors of the day can feel like an indulgence. — Danny Heitman, Christian Science Monitor, 31 July 2026

The dog watched over a three-bodied giant's red cattle, and was ultimately killed by Heracles as the demigod hero sought to complete his 12 labors. — Maddie Rhodes, USA Today, 24 July 2026

The results of those labors, Devil’s Quarry, debuts June 10 as Season Five of Bone Valley. — Paul Solotaroff, Rolling Stone, 9 June 2026

Verb

Thoroughly unimpressed by her suburban idyll, and evidently unmoved by her responsibilities as wife and mother, Denise labors in her basement on a novel whose protagonist wishes to forsake her family for a life in New York. — Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 22 Aug. 2026

Every man and woman who labors in the construction industry deserves that. — Tim Dunn, Boston Herald, 5 Mar. 2026