labour

la·bour

L0003400 (lā′bər)n.v. & adj. Chiefly British Variant of labor.

labour

(ˈleɪbə) or

labor

n1. (Industrial Relations & HR Terms) productive work, esp physical toil done for wages2. (Industrial Relations & HR Terms) a. the people, class, or workers involved in this, esp in contrast to management, capital, etcb. (as modifier): a labour dispute; labour relations. 3. a. difficult or arduous work or effortb. (in combination): labour-saving. 4. a particular job or task, esp of a difficult nature5. (Gynaecology & Obstetrics) a. the process or effort of childbirth or the time during which this takes placeb. (as modifier): labour pains. 6. labour of love something done for pleasure rather than gainvb7. (intr) to perform labour; work8. (intr; foll by for, etc) to strive or work hard (for something)9. (usually foll by: under) to be burdened (by) or be at a disadvantage (because of): to labour under a misapprehension. 10. (intr) to make one's way with difficulty11. (tr) to deal with or treat too persistently: to labour a point. 12. (Gynaecology & Obstetrics) (intr) (of a woman) to be in labour13. (Nautical Terms) (intr) (of a ship) to pitch and toss[C13: via Old French from Latin labor; perhaps related to lābī to fall] ˈlabouringly, ˈlaboringly adv

la•bor

(ˈleɪ bər)
n. 1. productive activity, esp. for the sake of economic gain. 2. the body of persons engaged in such activity, esp. those working for wages. 3. this body of persons considered as a class (distinguished from management). 4. physical or mental work, esp. of a hard or fatiguing kind. 5. a job or task done or to be done. 6. a. the uterine contractions of childbirth. b. the interval from the onset of these contractions to childbirth. v.i. 7. to perform labor; work. 8. to strive, as toward a goal; work hard (often fol. by for): to labor for peace. 9. to move slowly and with effort. 10. to function at a disadvantage (usu. fol. by under): to labor under a misapprehension. 11. to undergo childbirth. 12. to roll or pitch heavily, as a ship. v.t. 13. to develop or dwell on in excessive detail: Don't labor the point. 14. to burden or tire. adj. 15. of or pertaining to workers, their associations, or working conditions: labor reforms. Also, esp. Brit., labour. [1250–1300; Middle English < Middle French < Latin labor] la′bor•er, n. syn: See work. usage: See -or¹.

Labour

of moles: a company of moles—Bk. of St. Albans, 1486.

labour

Past participle: laboured
Gerund: labouring

Imperative
labour
labour

Present
I labour
you labour
he/she/it labours
we labour
you labour
they labour

Preterite
I laboured
you laboured
he/she/it laboured
we laboured
you laboured
they laboured

Present Continuous
I am labouring
you are labouring
he/she/it is labouring
we are labouring
you are labouring
they are labouring

Present Perfect
I have laboured
you have laboured
he/she/it has laboured
we have laboured
you have laboured
they have laboured

Past Continuous
I was labouring
you were labouring
he/she/it was labouring
we were labouring
you were labouring
they were labouring

Past Perfect
I had laboured
you had laboured
he/she/it had laboured
we had laboured
you had laboured
they had laboured

Future
I will labour
you will labour
he/she/it will labour
we will labour
you will labour
they will labour

Future Perfect
I will have laboured
you will have laboured
he/she/it will have laboured
we will have laboured
you will have laboured
they will have laboured

Future Continuous
I will be labouring
you will be labouring
he/she/it will be labouring
we will be labouring
you will be labouring
they will be labouring

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been labouring
you have been labouring
he/she/it has been labouring
we have been labouring
you have been labouring
they have been labouring

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been labouring
you will have been labouring
he/she/it will have been labouring
we will have been labouring
you will have been labouring
they will have been labouring

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been labouring
you had been labouring
he/she/it had been labouring
we had been labouring
you had been labouring
they had been labouring

Conditional
I would labour
you would labour
he/she/it would labour
we would labour
you would labour
they would labour

Past Conditional
I would have laboured
you would have laboured
he/she/it would have laboured
we would have laboured
you would have laboured
they would have laboured

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	labour - a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages; "there is a shortage of skilled labor in this field"labor, proletariat, working classsocial class, socio-economic class, stratum, class - people having the same social, economic, or educational status; "the working class"; "an emerging professional class"labor force, labor pool - the source of trained people from which workers can be hiredlumpenproletariat - (Marxism) the unorganized lower levels of the proletariat who are not interested in revolutionary advancementorganized labor - employees who are represented by a labor unionprole, proletarian, worker - a member of the working class (not necessarily employed); "workers of the world--unite!"
	2.	labour - concluding state of pregnancy; from the onset of contractions to the birth of a child; "she was in labor for six hours"childbed, confinement, lying-in, parturiency, travail, laboruterine contraction - a rhythmic tightening in labor of the upper uterine musculature that contracts the size of the uterus and pushes the fetus toward the birth canaleffacement - shortening of the uterine cervix and thinning of its walls as it is dilated during laborbirthing, giving birth, parturition, birth - the process of giving birthmaternity, pregnancy, gestation - the state of being pregnant; the period from conception to birth when a woman carries a developing fetus in her uteruspremature labor, premature labour - labor beginning prior to the 37th week of gestationasynclitism, obliquity - the presentation during labor of the head of the fetus at an abnormal angle
	3.	Labour - a political party formed in Great Britain in 1900; characterized by the promotion of labor's interests and formerly the socialization of key industriesBritish Labour Party, Labour Party, Laborlabor party, labour party - a left-of-center political party formed to represent the interest of ordinary working peopleLabourite - a member of the British Labour Party
	4.	labour - productive work (especially physical work done for wages); "his labor did not require a great deal of skill"toil, laborroping - capturing cattle or horses with a lassowork - activity directed toward making or doing something; "she checked several points needing further work"corvee - unpaid labor (as for the maintenance of roads) required by a lord of his vassals in lieu of taxesdonkeywork, drudgery, plodding, grind - hard monotonous routine workelbow grease, exertion, effort, travail, sweat - use of physical or mental energy; hard work; "he got an A for effort"; "they managed only with great exertion"hunting, hunt - the work of finding and killing or capturing animals for food or peltshackwork - professional work done according to formulahaymaking - cutting grass and curing it to make haymanual labor, manual labour - labor done with the handsoverwork, overworking - the act of working too much or too long; "he became ill from overwork"slavery - work done under harsh conditions for little or no pay
Verb	1.	labour - work hard; "She was digging away at her math homework"; "Lexicographers drudge all day long"drudge, moil, toil, travail, fag, labor, dig, grinddo work, work - be employed; "Is your husband working again?"; "My wife never worked"; "Do you want to work after the age of 60?"; "She never did any work because she inherited a lot of money"; "She works as a waitress to put herself through college"
	2.	labour - strive and make an effort to reach a goal; "She tugged for years to make a decent living"; "We have to push a little to make the deadline!"; "She is driving away at her doctoral thesis"labor, tug, push, drivepush, bear on - press, drive, or impel (someone) to action or completion of an action; "He pushed her to finish her doctorate"strain, strive, reach - to exert much effort or energy; "straining our ears to hear"struggle, fight - make a strenuous or labored effort; "She struggled for years to survive without welfare"; "He fought for breath"
	3.	labour - undergo the efforts of childbirthlaborundergo - pass through; "The chemical undergoes a sudden change"; "The fluid undergoes shear"; "undergo a strange sensation"

labour

noun1. toil, effort, industry, grind (informal), pains, sweat (informal), slog (informal), exertion, drudgery, travail, donkey-work the labour of seeding, planting and harvesting
toil rest, ease, leisure, relaxation, respite, repose, idleness2. workers, employees, workforce, labourers, hands, workmen The country lacked skilled labour.3. work, effort, employment, toil, industry Every man should receive a fair price for the product of his labour.4. childbirth, birth, delivery, contractions, pains, throes, travail, labour pains, parturition By the time she realised she was in labour, it was too late.5. chore, job, task, undertaking The chef looked up from his labours.verb1. work, toil, strive, work hard, grind (informal), sweat (informal), slave, endeavour, plod away, drudge, travail, slog away (informal), exert yourself, peg along or away (chiefly Brit.), plug along or away (informal) peasants labouring in the fields
work rest, relax2. struggle, work, strain, work hard, strive, go for it (informal), grapple, toil, make an effort, make every effort, do your best, exert yourself, work like a Trojan For years he laboured to build a religious community.3. overemphasize, stress, elaborate, exaggerate, strain, dwell on, overdo, go on about, make a production (out) of (informal), make a federal case of (U.S. informal) I don't want to labour the point, but there it is.4. (usually with under) be disadvantaged by, suffer from, be a victim of, be burdened by She laboured under the illusion that I knew what I was doing.

Labour

adjective left-wing, Democrat (U.S.) the Labour candidate in the by-election

Translations

劳动工人英国工党费力地前进分娩

labour

(American) labor (ˈleibə) noun1. hard work. The building of the cathedral involved considerable labour over two centuries; People engaged in manual labour are often badly paid.劳动2. workmen on a job. The firm is having difficulty hiring labour.工人3. (in a pregnant woman etc) the process of childbirth. She was in labour for several hours before the baby was born.分娩4. used (with capital) as a name for the Socialist party in the United Kingdom. 英国工党 verb1. to be employed to do hard and unskilled work. He spends the summer labouring on a building site.劳动2. to move or work etc slowly or with difficulty. They laboured through the deep undergrowth in the jungle; the car engine labours a bit on steep hills.费力地前进laborious (ləˈboːriəs) adjective difficult; requiring hard work. Moving house is always a laborious process.费力的laˈboriously adverb费力地laˈboriousness noun费力ˈlabourer noun a workman who is employed to do heavy work requiring little skill. the labourers on a building site. 劳动者，劳工 ˈlabour court noun a court of law for settling disputes between management and workers. 劳资争议法庭ˈlabour dispute noun a disagreement between management and workers about working conditions, pay etc. 劳资纠纷ˈlabour-saving adjective intended to lessen work. washing-machines and other labour-saving devices.节省劳力的

labour

→ 劳动zhCN

labour

labor under the illusion of/that

To live, operate, or function with the unyielding belief in something, especially that which is fanciful, unrealistic, or untrue. Primarily heard in US. Jeremy's always labored under the illusion of being a great writer, even though he's never written more than a few crummy poems. No one likes paying taxes, but those who would call for them to be done away with altogether are laboring under the illusion that our society can function without them!See also: illusion, labor, of, that

labor under the delusion of/that

To live, operate, or function with the unyielding belief in something, especially that which is fanciful, unrealistic, or untrue. Primarily heard in US. Jeremy's always labored under the delusion of being a great writer, even though he's never written more than a few crummy poems. No one likes paying taxes, but those who would call for them to be done away with altogether are laboring under the delusion that our society can function without them!See also: delusion, labor, of, that

stoop labour

Hard, physical labour requiring one to bend over, especially that which would be done on a farm. Primarily heard in UK. My grandfather has a permanent hunch in his spine from the stoop labour he had to do throughout his life. Every summer, we send the children to my brother's farm. It's good for them to get out of the city for a while and do a little bit of stoop labour.See also: labour, stoop

labor of love

Work that is done for pleasure rather than money. Katherine spends all of her free time knitting baby clothes for her friends. It must be a labor of love.See also: labor, love, of

labor the point

To talk about or emphasize something excessively and perhaps repetitively, usually to the extent that the listener becomes bored or annoyed. A: "I don't mean to labor the point, but I'm just worried that there won't be enough food at the party." B: "Yeah, we know, you've said that 10 times now." I'm only laboring the point because we still haven't reached a decision.See also: labor, point

labor of Hercules

A job, task, or activity that requires a huge amount of effort, energy, or physical strength. Sometimes used ironically or hyperbolically. But getting enough votes to pass the controversial legislation may prove to be a labor of Hercules. Sometimes it feels like finding a good burger that isn't the price of a sirloin steak is a labor of Hercules. It will be a labor of Hercules for them to dethrone the former champions in this year's Super Bowl, but they certainly have a shot.See also: Hercules, labor, of

labor at (something)

To work very hard or diligently to accomplish something. I've been laboring at my Ph.D. for nearly four years now. Pat's out back laboring at repainting the back wall.See also: labor

labor away (at something)

To work very hard or diligently (to accomplish something). I've been laboring away at my Ph.D. for nearly four years now. Pat always spends his Saturdays laboring away in the back garden.See also: away, labor

labor of love

Fig. a task that is either unpaid or badly paid and that one does simply for one's own satisfaction or pleasure or to please someone whom one likes or loves. Jane made no money out of the biography she wrote. She was writing about the life of a friend and the book was a labor of love. Mary hates knitting, but she made a sweater for her boyfriend. What a labor of love.See also: labor, love, of

labor of love

Work done for one's satisfaction rather than monetary reward. For example, The research took three years but it was a labor of love. This expression appears twice in the New Testament (Hebrews 6:10, Thessalonians 1:3), referring to those who do God's work as a labor of love. [c. 1600] See also: labor, love, of

a labour of love

COMMON A labour of love is a task that you do because you enjoy it or feel strongly that it is worth doing. Note: `Labour' is spelled `labor' in American English. There is no doubt that his debut novel is a labour of love, and obviously very close to his heart. They concentrated on restoring buildings such as the Victorian greenhouse, an expensive labour of love. Note: This appears in the Bible in 1 Thessalonians 1:3, `Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ'. See also: labour, love, of

labour the point

If someone labours the point, they keep explaining something or emphasizing a fact even though people have already understood it. I don't want to labour the point but there it is. The truth, without labouring the point, is that one can lead a good and fulfilling life without children.See also: labour, point

a labour of Hercules

a task requiring enormous strength or effort. In Greek mythology, Hercules was a man of superhuman strength and courage who performed twelve immense tasks or labours imposed on him as a penance for killing his children in a fit of madness. After his death he was ranked among the gods.See also: Hercules, labour, of

a labour of love

a task done for the love of a person or for the work itself.See also: labour, love, of

labour the point

explain or discuss something at excessive or unnecessary length.See also: labour, point

a ˌlabour of ˈlove

a hard task that you do because you want to, not because it is necessary: This tablecloth is a real labour of love. It took her years to make it.See also: labour, love, of

labour the ˈpoint

continue to repeat or explain something that is already clear: I think you’ve said enough — there’s no need to labour the point.See also: labour, point

labor of Hercules

A very difficult task. When the Greek hero Hercules was driven mad because of the goddess Hera's jealousy, he murdered his children. As atonement for his crime, he was obliged to perform twelve demanding tasks, such as slaying or capturing dangerous beasts, obtaining various prized and well-guarded possessions, and cleaning a very dirty stable in just one day. Hercules succeeded and was granted immortality and the hand of the now-mollified Hera's daughter. If your boss gives you an impossible assignment, especially that must be completed in a short time, you could show off your classical education by referring to it as a labor of Hercules.See also: Hercules, labor, of

labour

la·bour

labour

labor

la•bor

Labour

labour

labour

Labour

labour

labour

labour

labor under the illusion of/that

labor under the delusion of/that

stoop labour

labor of love

labor the point

labor of Hercules

labor at (something)

labor away (at something)

labor of love

labor of love

a labour of love

labour the point

a labour of Hercules

a labour of love

labour the point

a ˌlabour of ˈlove

labour the ˈpoint

labor of Hercules

labour

la·bor

labour

labour

labour

labour

labour

labour

Synonyms for labour

noun toil

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Antonyms

noun workers

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noun work

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noun childbirth

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noun chore

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verb work

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Antonyms

verb struggle

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verb overemphasize

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verb be disadvantaged by

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adj left-wing

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Synonyms for labour

noun a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages

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noun concluding state of pregnancy

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noun a political party formed in Great Britain in 1900

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noun productive work (especially physical work done for wages)

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verb work hard

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verb strive and make an effort to reach a goal

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