Related Words
See elaborate.
Other Word Forms
- laboredly adverb
- laboredness noun
- unlabored adjective
- well-labored adjective
Etymology
Origin of labored
Explanation
The adjective labored is used to describe something that is difficult or requires effort to perform. If you are pregnant with triplets by the ninth month your walking will be labored. The adjective labored can describe something that is lacking natural ease or style. If you have to recite Shakespeare and you do so haltingly or self-consciously, then you have given a labored performance. If you then become really nervous and start to hyperventilate during a recitation of Hamlet's soliloquy, you will have labored breathing.
Vocabulary lists containing labored
Five Feet Apart
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Distance Between Us
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Eastern District of California said the time it spent reviewing her alleged misconduct was a “waste of limited time and judicial resources in a district that has labored under a longstanding caseload crisis.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
Another concerned a sort of command center where workers labored “to make the internet as bad as we can possibly get it.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026
Since then, Budig has labored tirelessly to stoke enthusiasm for Summers’ book among her Inky Phoenix community members.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026
Google for years labored to catch up in the AI race.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 11, 2026
Men everywhere, of every color, stripped to the waist, labored in the sun.
From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
