| labor | | |
| n. (group) | 1. labor, labour, proletariat, working class | a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages.; "there is a shortage of skilled labor in this field" |
| ~ social 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 hired. |
| ~ lumpenproletariat | (Marxism) the unorganized lower levels of the proletariat who are not interested in revolutionary advancement. |
| ~ organized labor | employees who are represented by a labor union. |
| ~ prole, proletarian, worker | a member of the working class (not necessarily employed).; "workers of the world--unite!" |
| n. (act) | 2. labor, labour, toil | productive work (especially physical work done for wages).; "his labor did not require a great deal of skill" |
| ~ roping | capturing cattle or horses with a lasso. |
| ~ work | 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 taxes. |
| ~ donkeywork, drudgery, plodding, grind | hard monotonous routine work. |
| ~ elbow 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 pelts. |
| ~ hackwork | professional work done according to formula. |
| ~ haymaking | cutting grass and curing it to make hay. |
| ~ manual labor, manual labour | labor done with the hands. |
| ~ overwork, 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. |
| n. (state) | 3. childbed, confinement, labor, labour, lying-in, parturiency, travail | concluding state of pregnancy; from the onset of contractions to the birth of a child.; "she was in labor for six hours" |
| ~ uterine 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 canal. |
| ~ effacement | shortening of the uterine cervix and thinning of its walls as it is dilated during labor. |
| ~ birthing, giving birth, parturition, birth | the process of giving birth. |
| ~ maternity, pregnancy, gestation | the state of being pregnant; the period from conception to birth when a woman carries a developing fetus in her uterus. |
| ~ premature labor, premature labour | labor beginning prior to the 37th week of gestation. |
| ~ asynclitism, obliquity | the presentation during labor of the head of the fetus at an abnormal angle. |
| n. (group) | 4. labor, labor movement, trade union movement | an organized attempt by workers to improve their status by united action (particularly via labor unions) or the leaders of this movement. |
| ~ labor union, trade union, trades union, union, brotherhood | an organization of employees formed to bargain with the employer.; "you have to join the union in order to get a job" |
| ~ i.w.w., industrial workers of the world, iww | a former international labor union and radical labor movement in the United States; founded in Chicago in 1905 and dedicated to the overthrow of capitalism; its membership declined after World War I. |
| ~ trade unionism, unionism | the system or principles and theory of labor unions. |
| ~ reform movement | a movement intended to bring about social and humanitarian reforms. |
| n. (group) | 5. british labour party, labor, labour, labour party | a political party formed in Great Britain in 1900; characterized by the promotion of labor's interests and formerly the socialization of key industries. |
| ~ labor party, labour party | a left-of-center political party formed to represent the interest of ordinary working people. |
| ~ labourite | a member of the British Labour Party. |
| n. (group) | 6. department of labor, dol, labor, labor department | the federal department responsible for promoting the working conditions of wage earners in the United States; created in 1913. |
| ~ executive department | a federal department in the executive branch of the government of the United States. |
| ~ occupational safety and health administration, osha | a government agency in the Department of Labor to maintain a safe and healthy work environment. |
| n. (act) | 7. labor, project, task, undertaking | any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted.; "he prepared for great undertakings" |
| ~ child's play, cinch, duck soup, piece of cake, breeze, picnic, pushover, walkover, snap | any undertaking that is easy to do.; "marketing this product will be no picnic" |
| ~ work | activity directed toward making or doing something.; "she checked several points needing further work" |
| ~ adventure, dangerous undertaking, escapade, risky venture | a wild and exciting undertaking (not necessarily lawful). |
| ~ assignment | an undertaking that you have been assigned to do (as by an instructor). |
| ~ baby | a project of personal concern to someone.; "this project is his baby" |
| ~ endeavor, endeavour, enterprise | a purposeful or industrious undertaking (especially one that requires effort or boldness).; "he had doubts about the whole enterprise" |
| ~ labor of love, labour of love | productive work performed voluntarily without material reward or compensation. |
| ~ endurance contest, marathon | any long and arduous undertaking. |
| ~ no-brainer | anything that requires little thought. |
| ~ proposition | a task to be dealt with.; "securing adequate funding is a time-consuming proposition" |
| ~ large order, tall order | a formidable task or requirement.; "finishing in time was a tall order but we did it" |
| ~ venture | any venturesome undertaking especially one with an uncertain outcome. |
| ~ manhattan project | code name for the secret United States project set up in 1942 to develop atomic bombs for use in World War II. |
| v. (social) | 8. drive, labor, labour, push, tug | 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" |
| ~ push, 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" |
| v. (social) | 9. dig, drudge, fag, grind, labor, labour, moil, toil, travail | work hard.; "She was digging away at her math homework"; "Lexicographers drudge all day long" |
| ~ do 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" |
| v. (body) | 10. labor, labour | undergo the efforts of childbirth. |
| ~ birth, give birth, bear, deliver, have | cause to be born.; "My wife had twins yesterday!" |
| ~ undergo | pass through.; "The chemical undergoes a sudden change"; "The fluid undergoes shear"; "undergo a strange sensation" |
| toil | | |
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