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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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4
as in childbirths
the act or process of giving birth to children
the mother's labor lasted for six hours
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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
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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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of labors
Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
These labors are generally absent from estate accounts, though often evident in diaries.
—Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2025
But ambitious ones have become rarities, much like long magazine features and serious documentaries, surviving either as luxuries created by the privileged few or as labors of love made in the margins by committed independents who will work to keep the form alive.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2025
Part of what gives AI 2027 its weight is the charts and numbers running along the right side of the web page displaying the fruit of the authors’ labors.
—John Werner, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
Noun
For all the revelry, there was a tough, discursive seriousness in the approach that Lang and O’Hara took to their labors in the late forties and early fifties.
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
These labors are generally absent from estate accounts, though often evident in diaries.
—Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2025
But ambitious ones have become rarities, much like long magazine features and serious documentaries, surviving either as luxuries created by the privileged few or as labors of love made in the margins by committed independents who will work to keep the form alive.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2025
Part of what gives AI 2027 its weight is the charts and numbers running along the right side of the web page displaying the fruit of the authors’ labors.
—John Werner, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for labors
Noun
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Side effects may include stomach issues, headaches, and rare kidney problems from contamination.—
Sarah Anzlovar,
Verywell Health,
23 Oct. 2025
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In the year before his death, Thomas had been struggling with his mental health, as well as daily headaches and memory loss, his parents said at the time.—
Natasha Dye,
PEOPLE,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Anthropic has rebuked federal government efforts to preempt state-level oversight of AI — a notably different stance than that of OpenAI, which has pushed for less regulation.—
Alex Harring,
CNBC,
20 Oct. 2025
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Tulane University professor Susann Lusnia, part of the team who identified the artifact, recently visited the museum in Civitavecchia as part of the repatriation efforts.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
19 Oct. 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
Noun
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In some Michigan counties, Medicaid covers more than half of all childbirths.—
Kristen Jordan Shamus,
Freep.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Some of her products sold out within hours, even when Markle says her team assumed inventory would last weeks.—
Sydney Lake,
Fortune,
19 Oct. 2025
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The researchers plan to explore embedding these hydrogels directly into products, improving stability, and scaling up production.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Prince of Darkness died in Birmingham, England, on July 22 at 76 years old, leaving behind a legacy as a legendary heavy metal rock performer who, after years of various headline-worthy antics and struggles with addiction, made his foray into reality TV.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA Today,
20 Oct. 2025
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Dane, who revealed in April that he had been diagnosed with ALS, will appear as Matthew in episode 209, a heroic firefighter who struggles to share his ALS diagnosis with his family.—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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While on his jobs, Colter often has close calls with law enforcement, leading Reenie, a lawyer, to swoop in and save the day.—
Angel Saunders,
PEOPLE,
22 Oct. 2025
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After her guest spots in seasons 1 and 2, Pernas, Hartley's real-life wife, will return in season 3 as Billie Matalon, a fellow tracker who occasionally assists Colter with his jobs.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The agreement covers all works produced through Le Masne’s Multiman Records and will be administered by WCM’s teams in France and the US.—
Thania Garcia,
Variety,
22 Oct. 2025
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Much of Iran’s clandestine cinema, including some of Panahi’s earlier works, is didactic, focused on valorizing the victims of the regime’s injustices.—
Arash Azizi,
The Atlantic,
22 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Labors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/labors. Accessed 24 Oct. 2025.
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