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.
Fuel is the second biggest cost for airlines after labor, accounting for about 25% to 30% of total airline operating costs, according to the International Air Transport Association.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 22, 2026
Pandemic-era shutdowns and labor shortages knocked the industry off balance, and while conditions has been steadily improving, production capacity still remains somewhat squeezed.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026
The Labor Department plays a role not only in regulating current workplace conditions but looking ahead at the “long-term prospects of our labor markets,” Weil told me Tuesday.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026
Moreover, Papic underlines a crucial point: energy is far less than 10% of American GDP, it employs only 5% of the labor force, but almost three quarters of the economy is consumption.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 22, 2026
The motel room was small, like the cabins we lived in at the cotton labor camps.
From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez
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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