What does labour mean?
Labour denotes work, especially effort that is demanding, repetitive, or physically difficult, and it can refer collectively to workers as a social or economic group. The related verb describes working hard, struggling, or moving with difficulty. Its meanings extend to childbirth, where labour refers to the process of giving birth, and to sustained criticism, as in phrases such as “labour a point.” The spelling is chiefly associated with British English, although the word is also understood throughout the English-speaking world; American English usually spells it labor. Labour can carry positive or negative associations. It may suggest commitment, productivity, and useful work, but it may also evoke exploitation, hardship, and unequal working conditions. In discussions of economics and politics, the term often concerns the relationship between workers, employers, wages, rights, and the wider labour market. The word therefore links an ordinary human activity with major questions of dignity, justice, and social organization.
Work or effort, especially physical or manual work; a body of workers; or the process of childbirth.
"The building was restored by the labour of local craftspeople."
To work hard, struggle, or move or work with difficulty; also, in certain contexts, to criticize repeatedly or at length.
"The committee laboured for several days to reach a decision."
The plural is used especially for workers collectively or for separate acts, processes, or instances of work; in British English, it can also refer to childbirth.
"The family returned to the country to help with the seasonal labours of the harvest."
From toil and work to the collective force of workers, labour has shaped both everyday life and the history of rights, wages, and working conditions.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of labour
The word entered English through Old French labour, which was borrowed from Latin labor, meaning “work” or “toil.” The modern British spelling developed through the influence of labour in English, while the form without the additional u continued in American English. Related English words—including laborious, laboratory, collaborate, and elaborate—come from Latin forms associated with labor and laborare, “to work” or “to strive.”
Related word forms
How labour is actually used
In British English, labour is usual; in American English, labor is usual. The word can sound formal or political when referring to workers, wages, employment, or labour law, while the general sense of work or effort is widely used in everyday speech. In British English, labour also commonly refers to childbirth; American English more often uses labor in that sense.
Easily confused with labour
Labour and labor generally have the same meanings; labour is the traditional British spelling, while labor is the standard American spelling.