I. la ‧ bel 1 S3 W3 AC /ˈleɪb ə l/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: 'long narrow piece of cloth' ]
1 . a piece of paper or another material that is attached to something and gives information about it ⇨ care label :
a luggage label
on the label
It says ‘Dry clean’ on the label.
2 . a word or phrase which is used to describe a person, group, or thing, but which is unfair or not correct:
Men these days have to avoid attracting the ‘sexist’ label.
3 . a record company:
their new release on the Ace Sounds label
4 . designer label clothes made by fashionable companies:
Fancy designer labels tend to come with fancy price tags to match.
⇨ ↑ own label
II. label 2 AC BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle labelled , present participle labelling British English , labeled , labeling American English ) [transitive]
1 . to attach a label onto something or write information on something:
Label the diagram clearly.
label something sth
The file was labelled ‘Top Secret’.
label something with something
Each bag of seeds is labelled with the grower’s name.
2 . to use a word or phrase to describe someone or something, but often unfairly or incorrectly
label somebody/something (as) something
The newspapers had unjustly labelled him a troublemaker.
The regime was inevitably labelled as ‘communist’.