( US & Austral. labor )
■ noun
1》 work, especially hard physical work.
2》 workers, especially manual workers, collectively.
3》 ( Labour ) [treated as sing. or plural ] 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》 ( ~ under ) be misled by (a mistaken belief).
Phrases
a ~ of love a task done for pleasure, not reward.
~ the point explain or discuss something at excessive length.
Origin
ME: from OFr. ~ (n.), ~er (v.), both from L. labor 'toil, trouble'.