labor
Usage
What are other ways to say labor?
Labor particularly denotes hard manual work: backbreaking labor; arduous labor. Drudgery suggests continuous, dreary, and dispiriting work, especially of a menial or servile kind: the drudgery of household tasks. Toil suggests wearying or exhausting labor: toil that breaks down the worker's health. Work is the general word and may apply to exertion that is either easy or hard: fun work; heavy work.
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.
See Examples For:
Gonzalez, the California law’s author, who is now head of a labor federation, has expressed frustration with what she has called a feeding frenzy for lawyers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Department of Labor, argued that the lower H-2A wage rates would not affect U.S. workers because growers already faced a labor shortage, with demand for farm labor exceeding the available supply, CalMatters reported.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
A second economic support is that Japan’s labor market is stabilizing “and potentially starting to strengthen,” he says.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
That is what labor power looks like when it actually works.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
And when the White House officially reopened to the public on New Year’s Day 1818, the restored mansion—like the original—had been built with slave labor.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
He labors seven days a week as a construction worker, but goes out dancing every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 4, 2026
Much has been said, notably by the critic Harold Bloom, about the agony of the artist who labors under the shadow of the greats.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026
The box is carved with scenes of the labors of Hercules, while the lid is decorated with monumental reclining figures of the deceased.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2025
As Rams coach Sean McVay and Snead navigate their ninth season together, they can’t avoid seeing throughout the NFL the fruits — and competitive challenges — created by their labors and success.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2025
The helicopter labors upward, thwock-thwock-thwocking over the shoulder of Mt.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
The noise of backhoes, cranes and bulldozers echoed across Colombia's quake-hit cities on Sunday as workers labored to remove rubble, though the chance of finding survivors was slim a week after the disaster.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
Really labored breathing, kind of tugging in their belly, tugging between their ribs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
These unsung masters labored on the magnificent frescoes that cover virtually every inch of the two-story Basilica di San Francesco in Assisi.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
Last Thanksgiving, Megan Thee Stallion labored for days to prepare an elaborate holiday dinner for then-boyfriend Klay Thompson and his family.
From Salon ● Apr. 30, 2026
His breathing became labored, but he did not slow down.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
Agility, an Oregon-based company whose robots are already laboring within a Plexiglas cage at an auto-parts factory, recently announced plans to go public at a valuation of $2.5 billion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
We know that underneath, we’re laboring frantically to keep going — sometimes, even just to stay afloat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
You probably know it already — you’ve seen oil pumpjacks laboring away in nutty places, like on the La Cienega Boulevard shortcut through Baldwin Hills to the airport.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
"For decades, while laboring in the vineyards of the community, he inspired us to keep hope alive in the struggle for liberty and justice for all," the Democrat said.
From BBC ● Feb. 17, 2026
The road is flat, but he’s laboring as if he’s going uphill.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
Vocabulary lists containing labor
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Labor Day Lexicon: Words That Put You To Work
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Working Together: The Language of Unions
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