26984 words

labour

11 definitions • 29 examples
1

Examples:

The car parts themselves are not expensive, it's the labour that costs the money.
manual labour (= hard work using the hands)
2
workers, especially people who do practical work with their hands:

Examples:

skilled/unskilled labour
3
all the effort and hard work that have been involved in doing a particular piece of work:

Examples:

Are you tired after your labours?
West was paid very little for his labours.
Retirement is the time to enjoy the fruits of your labours.
4
the last stage of pregnancy from the time when the muscles of the womb start to push the baby out of the body until the baby appears:

Examples:

labour pains
She went into (= started) labour at twelve o'clock last night.
I was in labour for twelve hours with my first baby.
No two labours are ever the same.
5
to do hard physical work:

Examples:

He travelled around Europe labouring to pay his way.
[ + to infinitive ] Three hours after the explosion, rescue teams were still labouring to free those trapped.
6
to do something slowly with great physical or mental effort:

Examples:

He laboured up the hill with his heavy load.
She's been labouring over the same article for days.
7
the Labour Party, the political party in Great Britain that believes in social equality, a more equal sharing out of wealth, and the rights of workers:

Examples:

Labour are sure to get in at the next election.
I voted Labour in the last election.
8
belonging or relating to the Labour Party:

Examples:

the Labour Party
Labour voters
the Labour candidate
9

Examples:

The cost will depend on the amount of labour involved.
They gave us an estimated price including parts and labour.
The shorts sell for $45, but the hard labor of the women who made them cost just 50 cents.
Most jobs these days aren't exhausting manual labour.
10
workers in a company or a country, especially people who do practical work with their hands:

Examples:

skilled/unskilled labour Foreign workers were brought in to fill a temporary shortfall in skilled labor.
We use casual labour during busy periods.
11
to stop working as a way of complaining about or trying to change something, such as pay or working conditions:

Examples:

The pilots have chosen to withdraw their labour at a crucial time in the airline's history.

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