hard labor

American  

noun

1. compulsory labor imposed upon criminals in addition to imprisonment, generally not exceeding ordinary labor in severity or amount.

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Etymology

Origin of hard labor

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

It’s hard labor, but nothing in her life has been easy.

From Los Angeles Times

Plus, there was no getting around the fact that Ernesto was getting older, less desirable for hard labor.

From Slate

It takes sustained hard labor.

From The Wall Street Journal

Daddy wanted his sons’ existence to be easier than his own life of hard labor.

From Literature

After the war, Faÿ was sentenced to a lifetime of hard labor, but he escaped from prison in 1951 dressed in ecclesiastical costume, with the help of—here one reaches for the phrase “incredible but true”—Toklas.

From The Wall Street Journal