labor and labour are homophones: they are pronounced identically and spelled differently, which is why they are so often swapped. labor means “a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages”. labour means “a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages”.
/ˈleɪbɚ/
1.n.a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages
“there is a shortage of skilled labor in this field”
2.n.productive work (especially physical work done for wages)
“his labor did not require a great deal of skill”
3.n.concluding state of pregnancy; from the onset of contractions to the birth of a child
“she was in labor for six hours”
| labor | labour | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈleɪbɚ/ | /ˈleɪbɚ/ |
| Said | LAY-bur | LAY-bur |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| Letters | 5 | 6 |
| Parts of speech | noun, verb | noun, verb |
| Senses | 10 | 7 |
| How common | Common | Common |
| Synonyms | labour, working class, proletariat | labor, working class, proletariat |
Full entry for labor · Full entry for labour · More comparisons
/ˈleɪbɚ/
1.n.a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages
“there is a shortage of skilled labor in this field”
2.n.concluding state of pregnancy; from the onset of contractions to the birth of a child
“she was in labor for six hours”
3.n.a political party formed in Great Britain in 1900; characterized by the promotion of labor's interests and formerly the socialization of key industries