LABORS Synonyms: 219 Similar and Opposite Words

labors 1 of 2

noun

plural of labor

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

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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

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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

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as in childbirths

the act or process of giving birth to children the mother's labor lasted for six hours

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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

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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

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Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of labors

Noun

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 Their heroic labors produced the versions that, copied and recopied on papyrus and later on parchment, arrived at last at a printing press in Florence. — David Denby, New Yorker, 21 June 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 People who had really long labors and deliveries are at higher risk of developing a pelvic floor prolapse. — Parents, 21 May 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for labors

Noun

There will be recruiting battles and NIL headaches and portal defections and angry message boards and all the other insanity that comes with coaching at a place where fans consider 9-3 an average record rather than an accomplishment.

— Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 20 Sep. 2026
The growth that got her there had eaten everything—more people, more vendors, more headaches, but no more margin.

— Meredith Moore, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of headaches

Noun

An international mission in March documented escalating police violence, smear campaigns fueled by public officials, persistent impunity, legal and digital threats and the ruling party's efforts to tighten its grip over the media, CPJ said.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 24 Sep. 2026
The cost-cutting efforts have led to longer expected delivery times and lowered service-performance goals that USPS has been unable to fully reach, a recent Government Accountability Office report found.

— Hansi Lo Wang, NPR, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of efforts

Noun

The gods themselves are also an unnerving presence, omnipresent beings of colossal power who see humans as their playthings and view Ulysses' toils as some twisted spectator sport.

— Richard Edwards, Space.com, 17 July 2026
There has to be a chance that Jos Buttler’s toils in Sri Lanka and India represent his last ventures on the international stage, and therefore the end of an era.

— Paul Newman, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2026

Definition of toils

Noun

The human neurons suffered severe, selective damage, mimicking the cellular breakdown that causes cerebral palsy in human infants during difficult childbirths.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 17 Sep. 2026
Congo's has among the world's highest rates of both childbirths per woman and deaths around childbirth.

— ABC News, ABC News, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of childbirths

Noun

Easier discussions will be held around tariffs and agricultural products like soybeans, while AI, autos, technology and e-commerce will feature on the agenda, said the official, who asked for anonymity to discuss private conversations.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 21 Sep. 2026
American chains trade on their brand names and signature products, but many tailor their menus to appeal to Chinese customers.

— ABC News, ABC News, 20 Sep. 2026

Definition of products

Verb

Her tragic fate has inspired other former child stars to speak out about the pressure and struggles that often accompany fame at an early age.

— Holly Yan, CNN Money, 22 Sep. 2026
In the show’s second season, Lumon struggles to contain the fallout from these discoveries and fires the head of the severed floor, Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette), replacing her with her former deputy, Seth Milchick (Tillman).

— Jordana Rosenfeld, Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of struggles

Noun

Nussbaum and her colleagues began passing out leaflets at Boston subway and bus stops to women heading to their jobs at downtown office buildings.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2026
The jobs nobody wants The job of deciding whether a Florida family can buy groceries this month or keep its health coverage falls to DCF’s frontline caseworkers, known as economic self-sufficiency specialists.

— Sharmila Venkatasubban, Sun Sentinel, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of jobs

Noun

Yet Marcon’s works defy old-world tempos with their pacing (the shots in Monelle, 2017, last no more than a second each), their length (several clock in at under five minutes), and, of course, the seeming ease with which they can be summarized.

— Matthew McLean, Artforum, 22 Sep. 2026
There’s the largest assemblage of Lichtenstein mirror works ever installed together in a museum context, and a complete re-creation of his first Pop art show at Leo Castelli’s gallery uptown.

— Nate Freeman, Vanity Fair, 22 Sep. 2026