labour

[ ley-ber ]

/ ˈleɪ bər /

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noun, verb (used with or without object), adjective Chiefly British.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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usage note for labour

See -or¹.

OTHER WORDS FROM labour

an·ti·la·bour, adjective

Words nearby labour

laborsaving, labors of Hercules, labor spy, labor union, labor unionist, labour, Labour and Socialist International, labour camp, Labour Day, laboured, labourer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use labour in a sentence

Countries with 10 per cent of women in the labour force are nearly thirty times more likely to experience internal conflict than countries with 40 per cent.
How the 'Authority Gap' Between Men and Women Hurts Us All|Mary Ann Sieghart|April 1, 2022|Time
Unless gender discrimination in the labour market is addressed systematically, choosing to have three children will have a detrimental effect on women’s employment trajectory.
China’s Three-Child Policy Is Unlikely To Be Welcomed By Working Women|LGBTQ-Editor|June 7, 2021|No Straight News
The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs in Germany is studying “individual learning accounts” modeled on Singapore’s approach.
Will there be enough good jobs?|Laura D’Andrea Tyson, PhD ’74|April 28, 2021|MIT Technology Review
But, labour markets were not ready for this six-million surge in labour.
The Modi government needs to fix India’s job crisis to fix the economy|Prathamesh Mulye|January 20, 2021|Quartz

Governments and business need to work together, investing in reskilling and upskilling programmes to provide students and workers with the tools they need for rapidly shifting labour markets.
After the COVID-19 Pandemic We Need to Build More Resilient Countries|Saadia Zahidi|January 19, 2021|Time
They were finally accepted by a Labour Home Secretary, Roy Jenkins, in 1967.
The Castration of Alan Turing, Britain’s Code-Breaking WWII Hero|Clive Irving|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A senior Labour Party MP scoffed at what he suggested was faulty logic.
Britain’s Let-Em-All-Die Policy|Nico Hines, Barbie Latza Nadeau|November 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The middle classes,” Satyarthi once told the BBC, want “cheap, docile labour.
Kailash Satyarthi, Malala's Nobel Peace Prize Co-Winner, Is Fighting India's Child Slavery Epidemic|Dilip D’Souza|October 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
You take away Scotland, you take a major base of Labour strength.
An Independent Scotland Will Hurt Labour|Michael Tomasky|September 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So a Scottish secession need not prevent Labour from winning in a reduced UK.
An Independent Scotland Will Hurt Labour|Michael Tomasky|September 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Great was the surprise of Alf at the honour and labour thus thrust upon him, but he did not shrink from it.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
Michael Allcroft returned to his duties, tuned for labour, full of courage, and the spirit of enterprise and action.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
Here again we have the landscape of Lorraine and the eternal and infinitely varied theme of rural labour.
Bastien Lepage|Fr. Crastre
This would reduce the available time for direct manual labour at his disposal.
Antonio Stradivari|Horace William Petherick
Before she was in labour, she brought forth; before her time came to be delivered, she brought forth a man child.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various

British Dictionary definitions for labour

labour

US labor

/ (ˈleɪbə) /

noun

productive work, esp physical toil done for wages

the people, class, or workers involved in this, esp in contrast to management, capital, etc
(as modifier)a labour dispute; labour relations

difficult or arduous work or effort
(in combination)labour-saving

a particular job or task, esp of a difficult nature

the process or effort of childbirth or the time during which this takes place
(as modifier)labour pains

labour of love something done for pleasure rather than gain

verb

(intr) to perform labour; work

(intr; foll by for, etc) to strive or work hard (for something)

(intr usually foll by under) to be burdened (by) or be at a disadvantage (because of)to labour under a misapprehension

(intr) to make one's way with difficulty

(tr) to deal with or treat too persistentlyto labour a point

(intr) (of a woman) to be in labour

(intr) (of a ship) to pitch and toss

Derived forms of labour

labouringly or US laboringly, adverb

Word Origin for labour

C13: via Old French from Latin labor; perhaps related to lābī to fall

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012