labor-intensive

adjective

la·​bor-in·​ten·​sive ˈlā-bər-in-ˌten(t)-siv How to pronounce labor-intensive (audio)
: having high labor costs per unit of output
especially : requiring greater expenditure on labor than in capital

Examples of labor-intensive in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
From the point of sale to cash being deposited into a retailer's bank account, cash handling is often plagued by manual processes that are slow, error-prone and labor-intensive. Joe Arrage, Newsweek, 6 Dec. 2024 Sugar cane, another labor-intensive good whose production was disrupted by the Civil War, soon followed. Shoshi Parks, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Dec. 2024 This makes a migration away from VMware complex and labor-intensive, potentially increasing costs even more. Will Townsend, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024 An alternative to chemical treatments and labor-intensive cleaning methods, stocking the canals with the white amur fish is a natural solution to cleaning up the aquatic vegetation that could clog up canals critical to the region’s water supply. John Leos, The Arizona Republic, 30 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for labor-intensive 

Word History

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of labor-intensive was in 1928

Dictionary Entries Near labor-intensive

Cite this Entry

“Labor-intensive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/labor-intensive. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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