labour

Meaning

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) Effort expended on a particular task; toil, work.
2. (countable, uncountable) That which requires hard work for its accomplishment; that which demands effort.
3. (uncountable) Workers in general; the working class, the workforce; sometimes specifically the labour movement, organised labour.
4. (uncountable) A political party or force aiming or claiming to represent the interests of labour.
5. (countable, uncountable) The act of a mother giving birth.
6. (countable, uncountable) The time period during which a mother gives birth.
7. (countable, uncountable) The pitching or tossing of a vessel which results in the straining of timbers and rigging.
8. (countable, historical, uncountable) A traditional unit of area in Mexico and Texas, equivalent to 177.1 acres or 71.67 ha.
9. (countable, uncommon, uncountable) A group of moles.

Verb

1. (intransitive) To toil, to work.
2. (transitive) To belabour, to emphasise or expand upon (a point in a debate, etc).
3. To be oppressed with difficulties or disease; to do one's work under conditions which make it especially hard or wearisome; to move slowly, as against opposition, or under a burden.
4. To suffer the pangs of childbirth.
5. To pitch or roll heavily, as a ship in a turbulent sea.

Synonyms

labor

work

toil

effort

labor

task

travail

job

work hard

exertion

trouble

operation

business

strive

struggle

moil

service

employment

labour force

drudge

hard work

grind

pains

manpower

working class

working

push

achievement

fag

objective

endeavor

human resources

handling

proletariat

dig

deliver

ado

take pains

trade

activity

confinement

striving

chore

function

childbed

feat

parturition

pitch

endeavour

lying-in

Translations

travail

Arbeit

lavoro

trabajo

trabalho

werk

εργασία

travailler

Mühe

labeur

arbeid

accouchement

Auftrag

fatica

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈleɪ.bə/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: labor

Inherited from Middle English: labouren

In summary

From Middle English labor, labour, labur, from Old French labor (modern labeur) and its etymon, Latin labor.