laboratory

[ lab-ruh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee, lab-er-uh-; British luh-bor-uh-tuh-ree, -uh-tree ]

noun

, plural lab·o·ra·to·ries.

1. a building, part of a building, or other place equipped to conduct scientific experiments, tests, investigations, etc., or to manufacture chemicals, medicines, or the like.
2. any place, situation, set of conditions, or the like, conducive to experimentation, investigation, observation, etc.; anything suggestive of a scientific laboratory.

adjective

1. serving a function in a laboratory.
2. relating to techniques of work in a laboratory:

   laboratory methods; laboratory research.

laboratory

/ -trɪ; ləˈbɒrətərɪ; ˈlæbrəˌtɔːrɪ /

noun

1. 1. a building or room equipped for conducting scientific research or for teaching practical science
   2. ( as modifier )

      laboratory equipment

2. a place where chemicals or medicines are manufactured

Other Words From

• labo·ra·tori·al adjective
• labo·ra·tori·al·ly adverb
• labo·ra·tori·an noun
• inter·labo·ra·tory adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of laboratory¹

1595–1605; < Medieval Latin labōrātōrium workshop, equivalent to Latin labōrā ( re ) to labor + -tōrium -tory ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of laboratory¹

C17: from Medieval Latin labōrātōrium workshop, from Latin labōrāre to labour

Example Sentences

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is preparing to lay off hundreds of employees this week, director Laurie Leshin said in a memo to staff sent Tuesday afternoon.

From Los Angeles Times

That limited availability is one reason Luzmore and von Hagn went all-in on a microbiology lab, while Hill-Maini is building a kitchen alongside his laboratory at Stanford.

From Salon

IVF - or in vitro fertilisation - is when an egg is removed from a woman's ovaries and fertilised with sperm in a laboratory.

From BBC

It follows a proposal to build a new £400m medical laboratory at the site of a former nuclear plant in north Wales.

From BBC

His defence outlined there was a fault with the Vada testing laboratory.

From BBC

Related Words

• lab
• workshop