LABORS Synonyms: 219 Similar and Opposite Words

labors 1 of 2

noun

plural of labor

as in headaches

a dull, unpleasant, or difficult piece of work one of the labors of Hercules in classical mythology was to clean out the stables of King Augeas

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as in efforts

the active use of energy in producing a result a superhuman amount of labor must have gone into designing and building the pyramids of Egypt

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as in toils

very hard or unpleasant work a political dissident forced to do six months of hard labor in the salt mines as punishment

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as in childbirths

the act or process of giving birth to children the mother's labor lasted for six hours

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as in products

something produced by physical or intellectual effort a small, personal film that was clearly a labor of love for the director and actors

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labors

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of labor

as in struggles

to devote serious and sustained effort the young lawyer labored most of the weekend over the difficult legal brief

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of labors

Noun

Teaching and coaching are labors of love passed down from Lee’s father, Robert, who spent his career coaching and teaching students in Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools. — Pj Green august 27, Kansas City Star, 27 Aug. 2026 Exclusion generates the prestige toward which unpaid labors strive. — M. C. Mah, Literary Hub, 19 Aug. 2026 Do not restrict yourself from enjoying the rewards of your labors. — Lisa Stardust, Vogue, 10 Aug. 2026 As emails and text messages tug at our sleeves, even a short lull in the labors of the day can feel like an indulgence. — Danny Heitman, Christian Science Monitor, 31 July 2026 The dog watched over a three-bodied giant's red cattle, and was ultimately killed by Heracles as the demigod hero sought to complete his 12 labors. — Maddie Rhodes, USA Today, 24 July 2026 Their heroic labors produced the versions that, copied and recopied on papyrus and later on parchment, arrived at last at a printing press in Florence. — David Denby, New Yorker, 21 June 2026 The results of those labors, Devil’s Quarry, debuts June 10 as Season Five of Bone Valley. — Paul Solotaroff, Rolling Stone, 9 June 2026 People who had really long labors and deliveries are at higher risk of developing a pelvic floor prolapse. — Parents, 21 May 2026

Verb

Thoroughly unimpressed by her suburban idyll, and evidently unmoved by her responsibilities as wife and mother, Denise labors in her basement on a novel whose protagonist wishes to forsake her family for a life in New York. — Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 22 Aug. 2026 Every man and woman who labors in the construction industry deserves that. — Tim Dunn, Boston Herald, 5 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for labors

Noun

Tibbetts says the fires have already created plenty of logistics headaches.

— Anya Kamenetz, Curbed, 28 Aug. 2026
But nightmare headaches and blood pressure spikes from her teenage years came back at age 24.

— Maggie Menderski, Louisville Courier Journal, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of headaches

Noun

Meanwhile, a federal judge on Wednesday rejected the Justice Department's push to force Google to sell its ad exchange, another victory for the company against the government's antitrust efforts.

— MacKenzie Sigalos,Drew Troast, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2026
America's most popular league and its 32 clubs will honor the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001, through a series of commemorative efforts in communities across the globe.

— Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of efforts

Noun

The gods themselves are also an unnerving presence, omnipresent beings of colossal power who see humans as their playthings and view Ulysses' toils as some twisted spectator sport.

— Richard Edwards, Space.com, 17 July 2026
There has to be a chance that Jos Buttler’s toils in Sri Lanka and India represent his last ventures on the international stage, and therefore the end of an era.

— Paul Newman, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2026

Definition of toils

Noun

And these incidents are increasing by at least 10% a year among consumer products, according to a federal National Institute of Standards and Technology analysis.

— Alison J. Stein, HubSpot, 1 Sep. 2026
Flexible layouts and architectural display structures provide shoppers the space to discover products, while allowing the 2,400-square-foot space to evolve.

— Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of products

Verb

Deep in the Pyrenees mountains, a young man, Miquel, struggles in the wake of his mother’s death in a snowstorm — a tragic event that was at the center of Tóibín’s 2006 novella, A Long Winter.

— Mary Lawrence Ware, semafor.com, 3 Sep. 2026
Starring Weber Yang and Chang Shih Ying (Yen And Ai-Lee), the film depicts a grieving family that struggles to recover from a fragile relationship after an unexpected tragic accident.

— Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of struggles

Noun

In April, Flock Safety opened a 97,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Smyrna that is intended to create more than 200 jobs over the next three years as part of a $10 million investment.

— Irene Wright, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2026
The merger and streaming boom created more jobs than any period in the history of the business — many of them platform-filler corporate crimes.

— Joseph Kahn, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of jobs

Noun

Venezia Spotlight is the festival’s competitive section dedicated to works that showcase emerging trends and demonstrate creative originality and innovation.

— Luisa Zargani, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2026
Among the more than 40 films in Telluride’s main program are new works from major directors such as Martin McDonagh, Werner Herzog, Mike Leigh, Danny Boyle and Paweł Pawlikowski.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026