Labor - Definition

n 1: a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work
for wages; "there is a shortage of skilled labor in this
field" [syn: labor, labour, working class,
proletariat]
2: productive work (especially physical work done for wages);
"his labor did not require a great deal of skill" [syn:
labor, labour, toil]
3: concluding state of pregnancy; from the onset of contractions
to the birth of a child; "she was in labor for six hours"
[syn: parturiency, labor, labour, confinement,
lying-in, travail, childbed]
4: an organized attempt by workers to improve their status by
united action (particularly via labor unions) or the leaders
of this movement [syn: labor movement, trade union
movement, labor]
5: a political party formed in Great Britain in 1900;
characterized by the promotion of labor's interests and
formerly the socialization of key industries [syn: British
Labour Party, Labour Party, Labour, Labor]
6: the federal department responsible for promoting the working
conditions of wage earners in the United States; created in
1913 [syn: Department of Labor, Labor Department,
Labor, DoL]
7: any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted; "he
prepared for great undertakings" [syn: undertaking,
project, task, labor]
v 1: strive and make an effort to reach a goal; "She tugged for
years to make a decent living"; "We have to push a little
to make the deadline!"; "She is driving away at her
doctoral thesis" [syn: tug, labor, labour, push,
drive]
2: work hard; "She was digging away at her math homework";
"Lexicographers drudge all day long" [syn: labor, labour,
toil, fag, travail, grind, drudge, dig, moil]
3: undergo the efforts of childbirth [syn: labor, labour]