I. ˈlabrəˌtōrē, -tȯr-, -ri sometimes ˈlabər-, chiefly in substand speech by r-dissimilation ˈlabəˌt-, chiefly Brit ləˈbärə.tri or -ärətəri noun
( -es )
Etymology: Medieval Latin laboratorium, from Latin laboratus (past participle of laborare to labor) + -orium -ory — more at labor
1.
a. : a place devoted to experimental study in any branch of natural science or to the application of scientific principles in testing and analysis or in the preparation usually on a small scale of drugs, chemicals, explosives, or other products or substaces
a chemical laboratory
a biological laboratory
a rolling crime laboratory
the weather research plane, a powerful flying laboratory — Walter Hayward
b. : a place equipped for or an organized activity involving experimentation or observation in a field of study (as child development) or practice in a skill (as reading)
was equipped with a psychology laboratory
composition laboratory … for students requiring special help in English fundamentals — King College Bulletin
c. : a period in an academic schedule set aside for laboratory work
a course with two lectures and one laboratory a week
2.
a. : something resembling a laboratory in carrying on a process of production or testing
the laboratory of the mind
the laboratory of ongoing human experience — L.A.Weigle
b. : an environment that provides opportunity for systematic observation, experimentation, or practice
a settlement house serving as a sociological laboratory
the new nation of Israel, a social laboratory
3. : the hearth of a reverberatory furnace
II. adjective
1. : of, working, used, or done in a laboratory
get laboratory approval for the new appliance
a laboratory assistant in accounting
a laboratory manual
perform laboratory experiments
2. : befitting, suggestive of, or resembling that of a laboratory
insisted on … laboratory conditions in an election — New York Times
a cheap liquor … had a fierce laboratory flavor — Norman Lewis
a kind of laboratory method in fiction — Robert Humphrey
3. : of or involving observation or experimentation or practice for educational purposes
a laboratory period
a laboratory course