labor 1 of 2

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

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
3
4
5

labor

2 of 2

verb

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun labor contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of labor are drudgery, grind, toil, travail, and work. While all these words mean "activity involving effort or exertion," labor applies to physical or intellectual work involving great and often strenuous exertion.

farmers demanding fair compensation for their labor

Where would drudgery be a reasonable alternative to labor?

The words drudgery and labor can be used in similar contexts, but drudgery suggests dull and irksome labor.

an editorial job with a good deal of drudgery

When is it sensible to use grind instead of labor?

The words grind and labor are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, grind implies labor exhausting to mind or body.

the grind of the assembly line

When might toil be a better fit than labor?

The synonyms toil and labor are sometimes interchangeable, but toil implies prolonged and fatiguing labor.

his lot would be years of back-breaking toil

When could travail be used to replace labor?

While in some cases nearly identical to labor, travail is bookish for labor involving pain or suffering.

years of travail were lost when the house burned

When would work be a good substitute for labor?

Although the words work and labor have much in common, work may imply activity of body, of mind, of a machine, or of a natural force.

too tired to do any work

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of labor
Noun
For all of the headlines about bad things that happen in Annapolis, Maryland citizens should be proud that our state government also, in its own quiet but effective way, labors to identify problems such as squatting and then fixes them. Chris West, Baltimore Sun, 12 June 2025 The federal government is responsible for enforcing labor laws, not aiding and abetting breaking them. Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 June 2025
Verb
Sources After laboring for days to push for steeper spending cuts and repeatedly railing against the spending that added to the bloated national deficit, many of the holdouts caved. Allison Pecorin, ABC News, 22 May 2025 The Mets pieced together a response in the fourth though, as Clarke Schmidt labored after previously denying the Queens club a baserunner. Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 17 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for labor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for labor
Noun
  • Diontae Johnson signed a one-year deal with Cleveland after the draft, and given his experience and production, Johnson is the clear favorite to win the slot receiver job.
    Zac Jackson, New York Times, 17 June 2025
  • The capabilities of drones, 5G, and artificial intelligence (AI) are significantly making a difference in their ability to succeed at their jobs.
    Chuck Brooks, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
Noun
  • Michael Manley, the prime minister at the time, had asked Bob Marley and the Wailers to play the Smile Jamaica concert in an effort to calm tensions in the country.
    Natalie Meade, Rolling Stone, 16 June 2025
  • At the behest of the president, numerous federal agencies have undertaken aggressive, invasive initiatives to crack down on immigration, police speech, investigate political opponents, curtail US public health efforts and emergency preparedness, and more.
    Lily Hay Newman, Wired News, 16 June 2025
Noun
  • Kohli wiped the tears away and looked towards the heavens as all the pain washed away after years of toil and underachievement.
    Tristan Lavalette, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025
  • In the microcosm, every player, staff member, and yes, possibly even executive, has their own individual story of overcoming and toil which, on Saturday night, was realised in the glare of a thousand camera flashes.
    Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 2 June 2025
Noun
  • China is moving to expand access to pain relief during childbirth as part of efforts to encourage mothers to have more children.
    Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 June 2025
  • Few feel this more than athletes, whose livelihoods rely on their physical performance, which can shift dramatically after childbirth.
    Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 10 June 2025
Noun
  • From a production standpoint, McLaurin certainly belongs in the pay range of his top counterparts in the league.
    Kevin McCormick, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 June 2025
  • Food production giant Hormel Foods will tap Jeffrey Ettinger as its interim chief executive officer, effective July 14.
    Megan Poinski, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
Verb
  • O’Neal’s involvement in the FTX litigation generated headlines when process servers representing the investors struggled to track down the 7-foot-1, 325-pound very recognizable former NBA star.
    Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 16 June 2025
  • Both struggling defenders were pulled at halftime, replaced with like-for-like alternatives (Reed Baker-Whiting and Jon Bell) who fared better in the second half.
    Jeff Rueter, New York Times, 16 June 2025
Noun
  • This is just the wrong place for trash fees to be charged and is pretty much guaranteed to create massive headaches for homeowners.
    Inga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 June 2025
  • Bringing a pet to the vet's office for an appointment can often cause owners headaches, but one woman's chaotic experience left the internet in stitches.
    Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 June 2025
Noun
  • There’s a deep yearning and caring at work here that is the film’s idiosyncratic strength, but also may be its weakness, plausibility-wise.
    Lisa Kennedy, Variety, 13 June 2025
  • The House narrowly voted Thursday to cut about $9.4 billion in spending already approved by Congress as President Donald Trump's administration looks to follow through on work done by the Department of Government Efficiency when it was overseen by Elon Musk.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 13 June 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Labor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/labor. Accessed 27 Jun. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on labor

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!