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
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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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4
as in childbirth
the act or process of giving birth to children
the mother's labor lasted for six hours
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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
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as in to struggle
to devote serious and sustained effort
the young lawyer labored most of the weekend over the difficult legal brief
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of labor
Leslie Picker,ritika Shah, CNBC, 9 Feb. 2026
Yet this labor is stripped of its meaning if the parents seem indifferent to the lives they’ve been given.
—Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
Matt Donnelly, Variety, 21 Jan. 2026
The Austrian composer labored over it in fits and starts over nine years, but at his death in 1896 the finale was still a collection of sketches, some of which soon vanished.
—Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, 16 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for labor
Noun
Goldman Sachs' research team screened the Russell 1000 for potential productivity improvements, based on labor costs and wage exposure to AI automation.
—Leslie Picker,ritika Shah, CNBC, 9 Feb. 2026
Yet this labor is stripped of its meaning if the parents seem indifferent to the lives they’ve been given.
—Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
Verb
What viewers didn’t see was the 40 hours Daniels spent laboring on the project from inside a bomb shelter during a 2025 missile attack in Kyiv.
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 21 Jan. 2026
The Austrian composer labored over it in fits and starts over nine years, but at his death in 1896 the finale was still a collection of sketches, some of which soon vanished.
—Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, 16 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for labor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for labor
Noun
-
Suffice to say, Macdonald has more than done his job.—
Kyle Feldscher,
CNN Money,
9 Feb. 2026
-
At this point in his presidency four years ago, Democrat Joe Biden’s job rating was tumbling.—
Craig Gilbert,
jsonline.com,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The collar will help scientists understand the movement patterns and reproductive behavior of the Sierra Nevada red fox, providing key insights to guide conservation efforts.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
-
The former county clerk in Colorado was convicted of multiple crimes for letting someone access data from a secure voting system in an effort to prove unsubstantiated 2020 election conspiracies.—
Phillip M. Bailey,
USA Today,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The conceit of narrating a year in one’s life through the toils and sensations of the kitchen is one that many have taken up before.—
Hannah Goldfield,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Later in the season, after the Bridgerton sons playfully throw shaving foam at each other, a maid is shown scrubbing the floor, the furniture, and the walls, their fun and folly now her toil.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The challenges Black women face during pregnancy and childbirth often reflect gaps in care that begin much earlier in life and persist well beyond the postpartum period.—
Alexa Mikhail,
Flow Space,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Many women may not be aware at all that private details of their childbirths were shared with law enforcement.—
Shoshana Walter,
CBS News,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Demonstrating biological signal production in situ.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Those videos, especially in the case of Alex Pretti’s shooting, drowned out both the slop and slick government productions.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Engineers have struggled to close the reaction gap between human perception and machine processing without sacrificing accuracy.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Feb. 2026
-
De Meo was recruited from the auto industry, and his experience included turning around the struggling automaker Renault at the start of the decade.—
Elsa Ohlen,
CNBC,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Psyduck, one of the main Pokémon used by Misty in the series, was a water-type who could use powerful psychic moves, but the timing and effectiveness of its abilities was disrupted by its constant headaches.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
9 Feb. 2026
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On the same day Amber Glenn won Olympic gold as part of the team event and stepped away from social media due to backlash over her comments on politics and the LGBTQ+ community, the American figure skater ended up with another headache.—
Dave Skretta,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
This work offers a new platform for designing efficient photo-electrocatalysts and advancing next-generation solar–electrochemical energy conversion systems.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Feb. 2026
-
The opening night celebration in September features violinist Joshua Bell, after which Shelley will guide the season through a series of classic works, beginning with Mahler’s Second Symphony.—
Jessica Gelt,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Labor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/labor. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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