labour

American  

[ley-ber] / ˈleɪ bər /

noun

Chiefly British.

1. labor.

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labour British  

/ ˈleɪbə /

noun

1. productive work, esp physical toil done for wages

2. 1. the people, class, or workers involved in this, esp in contrast to management, capital, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a labour dispute

      labour relations

3. 1. difficult or arduous work or effort

   2. ( in combination )

      labour-saving

4. a particular job or task, esp of a difficult nature

5. 1. the process or effort of childbirth or the time during which this takes place

   2. ( as modifier )

      labour pains

6. something done for pleasure rather than gain

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verb

1. (intr) to perform labour; work

2. (intr; foll by for, etc) to strive or work hard (for something)

3. to be burdened (by) or be at a disadvantage (because of)

   to labour under a misapprehension

4. (intr) to make one's way with difficulty

5. (tr) to deal with or treat too persistently

   to labour a point

6. (intr) (of a woman) to be in labour

7. (intr) (of a ship) to pitch and toss

Spelling

See -or ¹.

Other Word Forms

• antilabour adjective
• labouringly adverb

Etymology

Origin of labour

C13: via Old French from Latin labor; perhaps related to lābī to fall

Example Sentences

It's a sharp change from 2022, when the population grew by more than a million people for the first time, fuelled in part by efforts to recruit immigrants to ease labour shortages.

From BBC

Instead, the EU executive hopes to tackle labour shortages through large-scale apprenticeship programmes and ease some environmental rules to speed up building permits.

From Barron's

With migrants increasingly key to Chilean businesses, Kast could come up against opposition from those relying on foreign labour for their business.

From BBC

But when the labour strikes ended, the production boom never returned.

From BBC

But while tariffs appear to be boosting some consumer prices, recent milder-than-expected inflation readings have allowed the Fed to focus on boosting the labour market by lowering rates, analysts said.

From BBC