Engelska

labour

gb/lˈeɪbɚ/ us/lˈeɪbɚ/
A2 Engelska
~ 900
Betydelser
0 betydelser
Substantiv A2 action
1

Work, especially hard work

Work that needs a lot of effort, especially physical work.

Användningsmönster: [someone] does labour
Vanligt misstag:
Learners sometimes confuse 'labour' with 'laboratory' because of similar spelling; they are unrelated in meaning.
Synonymer
work (The most general term; 'labour' often emphasizes effort or physicality.) | toil (Implies continuous hard work, often with difficulty.)
Antonymer
rest (The opposite state of taking a break from work or effort.)
Ordkombinationer
manual labour |hard labour |skilled labour |cheap labour |labour force |labour market
Teman
work |economy |daily life |education |core_vocabulary
Exempel
  • 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.
Exempel för inlärare
  • 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.
Substantiv B1 event
2

Process of giving birth

The process when a baby comes out of its mother.

Användningsmönster: [someone] is in labour
Vanligt misstag:
Some learners confuse 'labour' in this sense with 'labour' meaning work; context about pregnancy and birth clarifies the meaning.
Synonymer
childbirth (General term for the act of having a baby; 'labour' refers specifically to the process leading up to and including delivery.)
Antonymer
pregnancy (The state before the process of giving birth begins.)
Ordkombinationer
go into labour |in labour |labour pains |prolonged labour
Teman
health |family |body
Exempel
  • 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.
Exempel för inlärare
  • She is in labour now.
  • The woman went into labour at night.
  • Her labour lasted six hours.
Substantiv B1 entity
3

Workers as a group

All the people who work in a country or company.

Användningsmönster: [company/country] has [amount/type] of labour
Synonymer
workforce (Neutral term for all workers; 'labour' is often used in economic or political contexts.)
Antonymer
management (Refers to those who control or direct workers rather than the workers themselves.)
Ordkombinationer
skilled labour |unskilled labour |labour shortage |labour costs
Teman
work |economy |business
Exempel
  • 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.
Exempel för inlärare
  • 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.

Användningsmönster: to labour [doing something]
Synonymer
toil (Emphasizes continuous, exhausting work.) | struggle (Focuses more on difficulty than on physical effort.)
Antonymer
rest (To stop working and relax.)
Ordkombinationer
labour over details |labour in the fields
Teman
work |core_vocabulary
Exempel
  • 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.
Exempel för inlärare
  • He laboured in the garden all day.
  • They laboured over the homework for hours.
  • She laboured to carry the heavy box.
Substantiv B2 entity
5

Workers' political movement or party

A political group that wants to help workers and supports left-wing ideas.

Synonymer
socialism (A broader political ideology; 'Labour' refers to specific parties or movements within that spectrum.)
Antonymer
conservatism (A political ideology generally opposing many Labour policies.)
Ordkombinationer
Labour Party
Teman
politics |law
Exempel
  • 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.
Exempel för inlärare
  • Labour won many seats in the election.
  • She supports Labour policies.
  • Labour wants to help workers.
Grammatik
Grundform
labour
IPA
GB/lˈeɪbɚ/
US/lˈeɪbɚ/
Stavelser och betoning
la - bour (2 stavelser)
Stress on 1st syllable (la)
Ordformer
Noun
  • Base: labour
  • Variant Spelling: labor
  • Plural: labour, labours
Verb
  • Base: labour
  • Variant Spelling: labor
  • 3rd Person Singular: labours
  • Present Participle: labouring
  • Past: laboured
Ordfamilj
Forms
labor verb B1 labours noun labouring verb laboured verb
Core family
labourer noun B1
Related words
laborer noun B1
Advanced or less common
laborious adjective B2 laboriously adverb
Viktiga punkter
  • Spelling Variant: labor Verb
  • Spelling Variant: labor Noun
Uttryck

go into labour

1
/ɡˈoʊ ˈɪntu lˈeɪbɚ/
fixed phrase

Start giving birth

When a woman starts having contractions and the baby is coming.

Exempel
  • 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.

Exempel
  • 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.

Exempel
  • 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.

Exempel
  • 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.

Exempel
  • The job involves a lot of manual labour.
  • Manual labour is still common in some industries.

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