labourlabourslabouredlabouringnoun★work 劳动1★[uncountable ]work, especially physical work 劳动;(尤指)体力劳动◆manual labour(= work using your hands)体力劳动◆The price will include the labour and materials.此价格中包含人工费和材料费。◆The company wants to keep down labour costs.公司想保持低劳动成本。◆The workers voted to withdraw their labour(= to stop work as a means of protest).工人投票决定罢工以示抗议。◆He was sentenced to two years in a labour camp(= a type of prison where people have to do hard physical work).他被判处两年劳改。2[countable , usually plural ]( formal) a task or period of work 任务;(一段时间的)工作◆He was so exhausted from the day's labours that he went straight to bed.他工作了一天疲惫不堪,便直接上床休息了。people who work 劳动者3★[uncountable ]the people who work or are available for work in a country or company (统称)劳工,工人;劳动力◆a shortage of labour劳动力的短缺◆Employers are using immigrants as cheap labour.雇主正在把移民当作廉价劳动力使用。◆Repairs involve skilled labour,which can be expensive. 修理需要熟练技工,人工费会很昂贵。◆good labour relations(= the relationship between workers and employers)良好的劳资关系having baby 分娩4[uncountable , countable, usually singular ]the period of time or the process of giving birth to a baby 分娩期;分娩;生产◆Jane was in labourfor ten hours. 简分娩花了十个小时。◆She went into labourearly. 她早产了。◆labour pains分娩时的阵痛politics 政治5Labour[singular + singular or plural verb ](abbr.Lab. )the British Labour Party 英国工党◆He always votes Labour.他老是投工党的票。◆Labour was/were in power for many years.工党曾执政多年。IDIOMa ˌlabour of ˈlovea hard task that you do because you want to, not because it is necessary 为爱好而做的困难工作verbstruggle 奋斗1[intransitive ]to try very hard to do sth difficult 努力做(困难的事)labour(away) ◆He was in his study labouring away over some old papers.他在书房里潜心研究一些旧材料。labourto do sth ◆They laboured for years to clear their son's name.他们为洗刷儿子的罪名努力争取了许多年。work hard 努力工作2[intransitive ]to do hard physical work 干苦力活◆We laboured all day in the fields.我们在田地里辛勤劳动了一整天。◆( old-fashioned) the labouring classes (= the working class)工人阶级move with difficulty 吃力地行进3[intransitive ](+ adv./prep.)to move with difficulty and effort 困难吃力地行进SYN
struggle
◆The horses laboured up the steep slope.那些马费力地爬上了陡坡。IDIOMlabour the ˈpointto continue to repeat or explain sth that has already been said and understood 一再重复,反复解释(已说明的事)PHRASAL VERBˈlabour under sth( formal) to believe sth that is not true 为…所蒙蔽◆to labour under a misapprehension/delusion, etc.有误解、错觉等◆He's still labouring under the impression that he's written a great book.他仍然有这样的错觉,以为自己撰写了一部巨著。la·bour/ˈleɪbə(r); NAmEˈleɪbər/
LDC
labour1 noun
labour2 verb
labourlabour1 British English, labor American English ●●○S3W3AWL noun
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1work [uncountable] work, especially physical work: The garage charges £30 an hour for labour. Many women do hard manual labour (=work with their hands). Workers withdrew their labour (=protested by stopping work) for twenty-four hours. →
hard labour
2workers [uncountable] all the people who work for a company or in a country: a shortage of skilled labor We need to reduce our labour costs.3baby [singular, uncountable] the process of giving birth to a babyin labour Meg was in labour for ten hours. Diane went into labour at 2 o'clock.a long/short/difficult labour The labour pains were unbearable.labour ward/room (=a room in a hospital where women give birth)4a labour of love something that is hard work but that you do because you want to5somebody’s labours formal a period of hard work: After several hours' gardening, we sat down to admire the results of our labours.COLLOCATIONS– Meaning 2ADJECTIVES/NOUN + labourskilled/unskilled labour· Employers want to keep skilled labour because of the cost of training.cheap labour (=workers who have low wages)· Women and children were used as cheap labour.casual labour (=workers who do jobs that are not permanent)· The industry makes use of a large supply of casual labour.child labour· The shoe company was accused of using child labour in its factory.slave labour· Cotton was grown using slave labor.labour + NOUNthe labour force (=all the people who work in a country or for a company)· We need an educated labour force.the labour supply (=all the people available to work)· What was the effect of the war on the labour supply?the labour market (=the people looking for work and the jobs available)· the percentage of women in the labour marketa labour shortage· Immigrants came into the country to fill the labour shortage.labour costs· There was pressure to keep down labour costs.
labour1 noun
labour2 verb
labourlabour2 British English, labor American English ●○○AWL verb [intransitive]
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Word family
1to work hard: They laboured all day in the mills.labour over I’ve been labouring over this report all morning.labour to do something Ray had little talent but labored to acquire the skills of a writer.2labour under a delusion/misconception/misapprehension etc to believe something that is not true: She had laboured under the misconception that Bella liked her.3labour the point to describe or explain something in too much detail or when people have already understood it4[always + adverb/preposition] to move slowly and with difficulty: I could see the bus labouring up the steep, windy road.
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