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.
It would fix labor shortages, underfunded pension systems and lackluster productivity growth, they said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026
The labor minister called for “new rules for distribution through social dialogue.”
From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026
“Although we are optimistic about the labor market, things could turn quickly given the pessimism over energy prices and the war in Iran.”
From MarketWatch • Jun. 11, 2026
Thursday’s jobless claims numbers come after the U.S. economy added a seasonally adjusted 172,000 jobs in May, showing the labor market has now recorded its best three-month stretch in more than two years.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
“Do you want to come to the labor department and the market?”
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
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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