Labor

Multiple Entries:
  labor    labour  

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
labor etc.

▶noun US spelling of labour etc.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
labour /ˈleɪbə(r)/ (US labor)

▶noun

• 1 work, especially hard physical work.

• 2 workers, especially manual workers, collectively.

• 3 (Labour) [treated as sing. or pl.] the Labour Party.

• 4 the process of childbirth from the start of uterine contractions to delivery.

▶verb

• 1 work hard.

  ■ work at an unskilled manual job.

  ■ archaic till (the ground).

• 2 have difficulty despite working hard.

  ■ move with difficulty.

  ■ (of an engine) work noisily and with difficulty.

  ■ (of a ship) roll or pitch heavily.

• 3 (labour under) be misled by (a mistaken belief).

– phrases
a labour of love a task done for pleasure, not reward.
labour the point explain or discuss something at excessive length.

– origin ME: from OFr. labour (n.), labourer (v.), both from L. labor ‘toil, trouble’.