1
as in job
a dull, unpleasant, or difficult piece of work
one of the labors of Hercules in classical mythology was to clean out the stables of King Augeas
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in effort
the active use of energy in producing a result
a superhuman amount of labor must have gone into designing and building the pyramids of Egypt
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in toil
very hard or unpleasant work
a political dissident forced to do six months of hard labor in the salt mines as punishment
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in childbirth
the act or process of giving birth to children
the mother's labor lasted for six hours
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5
as in production
something produced by physical or intellectual effort
a small, personal film that was clearly a labor of love for the director and actors
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as in to struggle
to devote serious and sustained effort
the young lawyer labored most of the weekend over the difficult legal brief
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of labor
Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 21 Mar. 2025
Netflix won a bidding war for the series (which was a hot commodity coming out of 2023’s labor strikes) and gave the show a straight-to-series order in early 2024.
—Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Mar. 2025
Amitava Kumar, The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2025
The property has, at times, doubled as White’s studio— the flexible layout perfectly suited for the all-hours laboring that fuels her art.
—Spencer Elliott, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for labor
Noun
Los Angeles City Attorney’s office spokesman Ivor Pine said Urías was placed on 36 months of summary probation and ordered to complete 30 days of community labor.
—Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 21 Mar. 2025
Netflix won a bidding war for the series (which was a hot commodity coming out of 2023’s labor strikes) and gave the show a straight-to-series order in early 2024.
—Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Mar. 2025
Verb
Also headed to Vijayawada was a group of laboring youths from Khagaria, in Bihar.
—Amitava Kumar, The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2025
The property has, at times, doubled as White’s studio— the flexible layout perfectly suited for the all-hours laboring that fuels her art.
—Spencer Elliott, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for labor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for labor
Noun
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Across the videos related to job titles, 50 percent of women were depicted as smiling, while no men were, a result which reflects emotional expectations around gender, says Gaeta.—
Reece Rogers,
WIRED,
23 Mar. 2025
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Last summer, it was reported in the UK’s Times newspaper that he was being considered for the manager’s job at leading Portuguese side Porto.—
Simon Hughes,
The Athletic,
23 Mar. 2025
Noun
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As Maine continues to see more shark detections in its waters, studies like this will be crucial in ensuring that shark conservation efforts continue while also keeping human safety a priority.—
Melissa Cristina Márquez,
Forbes,
24 Mar. 2025
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What’s next? Property management posted a note on some doors that said cleaning efforts would begin March 7, exactly two months after the Eaton fire ignited.—
Andrew J. Campa,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Forest’s struggle from set pieces was a major factor in their two years of toil in the top flight.—
Paul Taylor,
The Athletic,
17 Mar. 2025
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Daisy, and a motley group of co-workers, toil in a cottage industry of agencies that evaluate harmful and offensive pictures and videos uploaded to social media.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
7 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Other medical dramas have often depicted childbirth, but not to this level of graphic detail.—
Esther Kang,
People.com,
14 Mar. 2025
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Men visiting their wives in childbirth is not done.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
EW.com,
5 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The returner with the most production is Eric McAlister, who had 39 catches for 762 yards with five touchdowns.—
Lawrence Dow,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
31 Mar. 2025
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Jobs at risk from lost production The industry is staying mum about future plans.—
Chris Isidore,
CNN Money,
31 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Ever since Alcaraz lost that immense Olympic final to Djokovic in August, the Spaniard has generally struggled to find his groove.—
Tim Ellis,
Forbes,
23 Mar. 2025
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During that time, Dave was struggling with his problems.—
Kory Grow,
Rolling Stone,
23 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Avantree Cord Organizer $7 at Amazon Cord clutter is a universal travel headache.—
Rosie Marder,
Travel + Leisure,
23 Mar. 2025
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While blazes like this one can be a major headache for people, fire is also a critical part of South Florida’s ecosystem — particularly the Everglades.—
Alex Harris,
Miami Herald,
22 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work.—
Jonathan Gay,
The Conversation,
21 Mar. 2025
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The biennial aims to put the contemporary works featured in the exhibition in conversation with early-twentieth-century paintings from the collection of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, where the event is being held.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
21 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Labor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/labor. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.
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