labour
gb/lˈeɪbɚ/ us/lˈeɪbɚ/
A2
English
~ 900
Senses
0 senses
Noun
A2
action
1
Work, especially hard work
Work that needs a lot of effort, especially physical work.
Usage pattern:
[someone] does labour
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'labour' with 'laboratory' because of similar spelling; they are unrelated in meaning.
Synonyms
work (The most general term; 'labour' often emphasizes effort or physicality.)
|
toil (Implies continuous hard work, often with difficulty.)
Antonyms
rest (The opposite state of taking a break from work or effort.)
Collocations
manual labour
|hard labour
|skilled labour
|cheap labour
|labour force
|labour market
Themes
work
|economy
|daily life
|education
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The construction of the bridge required months of hard labour.
- Farmers often rely on seasonal labour to harvest crops.
- The project involved both skilled and unskilled labour.
- Cheap labour can be found in some developing countries.
- He was sentenced to five years of hard labour.
Learner examples
- Building the house took a lot of labour.
- Farm work is hard labour.
- The company needs more labour for the project.
- She does manual labour every day.
Noun
B1
event
2
Process of giving birth
The process when a baby comes out of its mother.
Usage pattern:
[someone] is in labour
Common mistake:
Some learners confuse 'labour' in this sense with 'labour' meaning work; context about pregnancy and birth clarifies the meaning.
Synonyms
childbirth (General term for the act of having a baby; 'labour' refers specifically to the process leading up to and including delivery.)
Antonyms
pregnancy (The state before the process of giving birth begins.)
Collocations
go into labour
|in labour
|labour pains
|prolonged labour
Themes
health
|family
|body
Examples
- She went into labour early in the morning.
- The nurse stayed with her throughout her labour.
- Labour can last for many hours.
- The doctor monitored the progress of her labour carefully.
Learner examples
- She is in labour now.
- The woman went into labour at night.
- Her labour lasted six hours.
Noun
B1
entity
3
Workers as a group
All the people who work in a country or company.
Usage pattern:
[company/country] has [amount/type] of labour
Synonyms
workforce (Neutral term for all workers; 'labour' is often used in economic or political contexts.)
Antonyms
management (Refers to those who control or direct workers rather than the workers themselves.)
Collocations
skilled labour
|unskilled labour
|labour shortage
|labour costs
Themes
work
|economy
|business
Examples
- The factory depends on skilled labour from abroad.
- There is a shortage of labour in the agricultural sector.
- Labour costs have risen sharply this year.
Learner examples
- The company needs more skilled labour.
- Labour is expensive in this country.
- The farm has a shortage of labour.
Verb
B2
action
4
To work hard at something
To work very hard for a long time.
Usage pattern:
to labour [doing something]
Synonyms
toil (Emphasizes continuous, exhausting work.)
|
struggle (Focuses more on difficulty than on physical effort.)
Antonyms
rest (To stop working and relax.)
Collocations
labour over details
|labour in the fields
Themes
work
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- They laboured over the report for weeks.
- Workers laboured in the hot sun all day.
- She laboured to finish her degree while raising two children.
Learner examples
- He laboured in the garden all day.
- They laboured over the homework for hours.
- She laboured to carry the heavy box.
Noun
B2
entity
5
Workers' political movement or party
A political group that wants to help workers and supports left-wing ideas.
Synonyms
socialism (A broader political ideology; 'Labour' refers to specific parties or movements within that spectrum.)
Antonyms
conservatism (A political ideology generally opposing many Labour policies.)
Collocations
Labour Party
Themes
politics
|law
Examples
- The Labour Party won the election by a large margin.
- Labour has promised to increase funding for public services.
- He has been a member of Labour for over twenty years.
Learner examples
- Labour won many seats in the election.
- She supports Labour policies.
- Labour wants to help workers.
Grammar
Dictionary form
labour
IPA
GB/lˈeɪbɚ/
US/lˈeɪbɚ/
Syllables & stress
la - bour (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (la)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: labour
- Variant Spelling: labor
- Plural: labour, labours
Verb
- Base: labour
- Variant Spelling: labor
- 3rd Person Singular: labours
- Present Participle: labouring
- Past: laboured
Word family
Forms
Core family
labourer
noun B1
Related words
laborer
noun B1
Advanced or less common
laborious
adjective B2
laboriously
adverb
Highlights
- Spelling Variant: labor Verb
- Spelling Variant: labor Noun
Expressions
go into labour
1/ɡˈoʊ ˈɪntu lˈeɪbɚ/
fixed phrase
Start giving birth
When a woman starts having contractions and the baby is coming.
Examples
- She went into labour two weeks early.
- Call the doctor—she's going into labour now.
hard labour
1/hˈɑɹd lˈeɪbɚ/
fixed phrase
Very hard physical work
Work that needs a lot of strength and energy, sometimes given as punishment in prison.
Examples
- Prisoners were sentenced to ten years of hard labour.
- Farmers face months of hard labour during harvest season.
in labour
1/ˈɪn lˈeɪbɚ/
fixed phrase
Experiencing childbirth contractions
When a woman is having contractions before giving birth.
Examples
- She has been in labour for six hours.
- When I arrived, she was already in labour.
labour of love
1/lˈeɪbɚ əv lˈʌv/
idiom
Work done for pleasure not pay
Work someone does because they enjoy it, not because they get paid.
Examples
- Restoring the old house was a real labour of love for them.
- Writing the book was a labour of love.
manual labour
1/mˈænjuəl lˈeɪbɚ/
fixed phrase
Physical work by hand
Work that needs using your hands and body instead of machines or computers.
Examples
- The job involves a lot of manual labour.
- Manual labour is still common in some industries.