as in struggling
to devote serious and sustained effort
the young lawyer labored most of the weekend over the difficult legal brief
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Recent Examples of laboring
With evacuation shelters reaching capacity as more than 40,000 people were asked to leave their homes, officials laboring to prevent an explosion at a crippled chemical tank in Garden Grove reported tentative progress Sunday in ending the crisis.
—
Deborah Netburn, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2026
Makar has played in every game this postseason, but was clearly laboring in Game 5 against the Minnesota Wild.
—Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 20 May 2026
Imagine a place of employment where everyone in the building is laboring to live out their childhood dream.
—Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 10 May 2026
Just three had received fewer innings per game from their starters, increasing the burden on a bullpen laboring under the strain.
—Matt Kawahara, Houston Chronicle, 7 May 2026
For the rest of us, the construction kickoff means delay upon delay as streets, avenues and roads are awash with heavy equipment and construction workers laboring with jackhammers, picks and shovels.
—Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026
Put differently, eliminating tax on overtime reduces the number of hours each day that hourly workers are laboring not for themselves or their families but for the government.
—Stephen Moore, Boston Herald, 10 Apr. 2026
The difference early was that Keller was throwing strikes at an astonishing rate and quickly working through his innings, while King was laboring.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Apr. 2026
Alongside the currently missing McDaniels and Edwards, Naz Reid is clearly laboring.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 6 Apr. 2026
Deborah Netburn, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2026
Makar has played in every game this postseason, but was clearly laboring in Game 5 against the Minnesota Wild.
—Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 20 May 2026
Imagine a place of employment where everyone in the building is laboring to live out their childhood dream.
—Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 10 May 2026
Just three had received fewer innings per game from their starters, increasing the burden on a bullpen laboring under the strain.
—Matt Kawahara, Houston Chronicle, 7 May 2026
For the rest of us, the construction kickoff means delay upon delay as streets, avenues and roads are awash with heavy equipment and construction workers laboring with jackhammers, picks and shovels.
—Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026
Put differently, eliminating tax on overtime reduces the number of hours each day that hourly workers are laboring not for themselves or their families but for the government.
—Stephen Moore, Boston Herald, 10 Apr. 2026
The difference early was that Keller was throwing strikes at an astonishing rate and quickly working through his innings, while King was laboring.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Apr. 2026
Alongside the currently missing McDaniels and Edwards, Naz Reid is clearly laboring.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 6 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for laboring
Verb
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After more than five innings of the Bulldogs trailing Liberty by one, struggling to get anything going, the Georgia third baseman crushed a two-run home run to left field.—
Sarah Spencer,
AJC.com,
1 June 2026
-
Hezbollah's use of hard-to-detect fiber optic drones has been deadly for the Israeli military, which is struggling to respond.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 May 2026
Verb
-
The multi-million dollar production process on this asset alone showcases the level of detail that Xbox is striving to achieve with this game, according to Activision chief marketing officer Tyler Bahl.—
Jennifer Maas,
Variety,
28 May 2026
-
As for the Cavaliers, their partnership with The Realest involves both organizations striving to achieve two goals.—
Mark Medina,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2026
Verb
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Advocacy is rising in a similar fashion around AI with initiatives like the No Fakes Act, a bill championed by SAG-AFTRA and others in Hollywood that is is working its way through Congress.—
Dade Hayes,
Deadline,
31 May 2026
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Rescue teams from Laos and neighboring Thailand have been working together in the last week at the site in a rugged area in the central province of Xaisomboun, about 75 miles north of the capital, Vientiane.—
Jintamas Saksornchai,
Los Angeles Times,
31 May 2026
Verb
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The president signed an executive order on March 31 that attempts to change the rules on mail-in voting, and his allies in Congress are endeavoring to reshape elections ahead of the midterms this fall, spending weeks debating a voter-ID bill that is almost certainly doomed.—
Shane Harris,
The Atlantic,
14 May 2026
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Maryland’s Republican leaders would do well to listen to Bouchat and to follow his example rather than endeavoring to expel him from office for doing little more than stating the obvious.—
Chris Roemer,
Baltimore Sun,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The 60-year-old owner of All-Pro Lawnmower Sales, Service & Recycling at 555 Santa Fe Drive in Denver spends his days toiling on small engines.—
Matthew Geiger,
Denver Post,
29 May 2026
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These figures are not the proprietary work of a data scientist toiling away late into the night.—
Evan Drellich,
New York Times,
27 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Laboring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/laboring. Accessed 3 Jun. 2026.
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