Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com
Definitions

hard labor

NOUN
sentence imposing physical work
Synonyms


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

After the war, Faÿ was sentenced to a lifetime of hard labor, but he escaped from prison in 1951 dressed in ecclesiastical costume, with the help of—here one reaches for the phrase “incredible but true”—Toklas.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025

Someone who appreciates hard labor and thrills to the sight of heavy machinery.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 27, 2024

As a result, the trial judge denied Griner’s request for bail or house arrest, instead sentencing her to nine years of hard labor.

From Slate • May 4, 2024

At first condemned to hard labor, Wenjie catches the eye of the architects of a nearby scientific project run by the government.

From New York Times • Mar. 21, 2024

Following their capture at the Bay of Pigs, Pepe San Román, Erneido Oliva, and more than eleven hundred members of the invading brigade were sentenced to thirty years of hard labor.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin




Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "hard labor" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com