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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in to struggle
to devote serious and sustained effort
the young lawyer labored most of the weekend over the difficult legal brief
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of labor
Jessica Simmons-Reid, Artforum, 1 June 2025
In part, the current scarcity is being fueled by Covid-era supply-chain issues, material costs and labor shortages.
—Kelsey Neubauer, CNBC, 30 May 2025
David Lyons, Sun Sentinel, 20 May 2025
Each creator contributed immensely to American art and culture, while laboring in an industry that, until recently, produced very little financial rewards or respect.
—Rob Salkowitz, Forbes.com, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for labor
Noun
This multipage text serves as an interlude, a waypoint between the images that depict labor and the images that depict birth—the moment of fission when one body splits into two.
—Jessica Simmons-Reid, Artforum, 1 June 2025
In part, the current scarcity is being fueled by Covid-era supply-chain issues, material costs and labor shortages.
—Kelsey Neubauer, CNBC, 30 May 2025
Verb
Brightline has labored to increase ridership along its 170-mile extension to Orlando from West Palm Beach.
—David Lyons, Sun Sentinel, 20 May 2025
Each creator contributed immensely to American art and culture, while laboring in an industry that, until recently, produced very little financial rewards or respect.
—Rob Salkowitz, Forbes.com, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for labor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for labor
Noun
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One incentive to keep trying is the success of Naïma (Samia Hilmi), who is preparing to move with her child into their own flat and is on track to secure a job as a railway ticket inspector.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
24 May 2025
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The outplacement firm estimates that teens will gain around one million jobs across May, June and July this year, a stark drop from its forecast of 1.3 million last year and a slight decline from the 1.1 million that were eventually added.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 May 2025
Noun
-
And this year, thousands of year-round and seasonal National Parks workers — including rangers, wildlife researchers and maintenance staff — have been fired and rehired as part of the DOGE efforts to slash the size of the federal government.—
Hailey Branson-Potts,
Los Angeles Times,
23 May 2025
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The vast majority of Customer Success leaders (89%) are making scale and efficiency a primary goal of their efforts, according to a survey of research conducted by Gainsight.—
Stephen Diorio,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2025
Noun
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There’s also mental health counseling to help the students deal with the emotional toil that homelessness takes.—
Debbie Daniel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
28 May 2025
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His instincts were forged during the Cultural Revolution, in the 1960s and 1970s, when his family fell from grace and he was sent to toil in rural Shaanxi.—
Zongyuan Zoe Liu,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
For years, society has warned women against childbirth after 35.—
Essence,
Essence,
20 May 2025
-
There is a pathetic patronizing attempt to walk the misogynistic message back with the reassurance that of course the Tribune Editorial Board supports any choice a person makes about childbirth.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
14 May 2025
Noun
-
Its 2019 production The Body Remembers When The World Broke Open won the Toronto Film Critics Association Best Canadian Film Award (2020) and was picked up for distribution by Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY Releasing.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
30 May 2025
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With a $45 million production budget, the Sony and Columbia film should crane-kick to a tidy profit.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
30 May 2025
Verb
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Rob Crossan January 17, 2025 Marketed as a luxury tourist destination, the Maldives struggles with the legacy of an authoritarian government and the existential threat of climate change.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
23 May 2025
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That built him a three-shot lead entering Sunday's final round. Midway through his final 18, Scheffler was struggling.—
Kendall Capps,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 May 2025
Noun
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Once doctors reviewed the family’s travel history, treatment was quickly shifted to address concerns of histoplasmosis, which the CDC explains can cause cause flu-like symptoms including fever and chills, malaise, cough, headache, chest pain and body aches.—
Cara Lynn Shultz,
People.com,
23 May 2025
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Listeriosis can cause fever, muscle aches, headaches, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions, diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms.—
Jasmine Laws,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 May 2025
Noun
-
Then, a year later, came the moves up the coaching ladder with the Heat that included G League work with the Skyforce.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
1 June 2025
-
He is noted for exceptional design work on notable homes in the area.—
James Alexander,
Hartford Courant,
1 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Labor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/labor. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.
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