Labour is very hard work, usually physical work. the labour of seeding, planting and harvesting The chef at the barbecue looked up from his labours; he was sweating. see also hard labour
concluding state of pregnancy; from the onset of labor to the birth of a child; "she was in labor for six hours"
the number of hours people work in producing goods and services (chapters 2 and 5)
work hard; "She was digging away at her math homework"; "Lexicographers drudge all day long"
The mental and physical training and talents of people; sometimes called human resources
{i} work, toil; craft; entire body of workers; status of workers; work force; contractions of childbirth; childbirth (alternate spelling for labor)
Someone who labours works hard using their hands. peasants labouring in the fields Her husband laboured at the plant for 17 years
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"
Workers in general; the working class, the workforce; sometimes specifically the labour movement, organised labour
Onset of regular painful contractions associated with cervical dilatation or effacement and decent of the presenting part
The work done by a group of workers or by a particular worker is referred to as their labour. The unemployed cannot withdraw their labour -- they have no power
Labour is one of the primary factor inputs into production The term 'labour' refers to productive activity provided by humans, including physical effort, intellectual powers, trade skills, etc
A Labour politician or voter is a member of a Labour Party or votes for a Labour Party. a Labour MP Millions of Labour voters went unrepresented
employees with little supervisory responsibility whose main task is the production of goods and services
productive work (especially physical work done for wages); "his labor did not require a great deal of skill"
Labour is used to refer to the workers of a country or industry, considered as a group. Latin America lacked skilled labour They were cheap labour
If you labour under a delusion or misapprehension, you continue to believe something which is not true. She laboured under the illusion that I knew what I was doing You seem to be labouring under considerable misapprehensions
If you labour a point or an argument, you keep making the same point or saying the same thing, although it is unnecessary. I don't want to labour the point but there it is
The economically productive capabilities of humans, their physical and mental talents as applied to the production of goods and services
If you labour to do something, you do it with difficulty. For twenty-five years now he has laboured to build a religious community. a young man who's labouring under all kinds of other difficulties. = struggle
a political party formed in Great Britain in 1900; characterized by the promotion of labor's interests and the socialization of key industries
See Labour; Labour Party; political party aiming or claiming to represent the interests of labour
Labour is the last stage of pregnancy, in which the baby is gradually pushed out of the womb by the mother. I thought the pains meant I was going into labour. the British Labour Party under Labour. In economics, the general body of wage earners. In classical economics, labour is one of the three factors of production, along with capital and land. Labour can also be used to describe work performed, including any valuable service rendered by a human agent in the production of wealth, other than accumulating and providing capital. Labour is performed for the sake of its product or, in modern economic life, for the sake of a share of the aggregate product of the community's industry. The price per unit of time, or wage rate, commanded by a particular kind of labour in the market depends on a number of variables, such as the technical efficiency of the worker, the demand for that person's particular skills, and the supply of similarly skilled workers. Other variables include training, experience, intelligence, social status, prospects for advancement, and relative difficulty of the work. All these factors make it impossible for economists to assign a standard value to labour. Instead, economists often quantify labour hours according to the quantity and value of the goods or services produced. child labour division of labour International Labour Organization Israel Labour Party labour economics labour law Labour Party labour union migrant labour