labour
noun UK (US labor) uk/ˈleɪ.bər/ us/ˈleɪ.bɚ/
(WORK)
C1 [ U ]劳动;（尤指）体力劳动
practical work, especially when it involves hard physical effort
The car parts themselves are not expensive, it's the labour that costs the money. 汽车零件本身并不贵，但人工费很高。
manual labour (= hard work using the hands) 体力劳动
C1 [ U ]（尤指干体力活儿的）工人，劳工
workers, especially people who do practical work with their hands
skilled/unskilled labour 熟练／非熟练工人
labours[ plural ] literary 努力;辛勤劳动
all the effort and hard work that have been involved in doing a particular piece of work
Are you tired after your labours? 辛勤工作之后你觉得累吗？
West was paid very little for his labours. 韦斯特的辛勤劳动只得到了很微薄的报酬。
Retirement is the time to enjoy the fruits of your labours. 退休就是享受辛勤劳动成果的时候。
- More examples
- Farming has been mechanized, reducing the need for labour.
- The older generation were bent double from decades of labour in the fields.
- Society is challenging the traditional sexual division of labour.
- There has been some increase in the use of casual labour over recent years.
- We'll invoice you for parts and labour.
(BIRTH)
C2 [ C or U ]分娩期;分娩，生产，临盆
the last stage of pregnancy from the time when the muscles of the womb start to push the baby out of the body until the baby appears
labour pains 分娩时的阵痛
She went into (= started) labour at twelve o'clock last night. 昨晚12点她开始分娩。
I was in labour for twelve hours with my first baby. 我生第一个孩子用了12个小时。
No two labours are ever the same. 没有两次分娩是完全相同的。
Idiom
labour of loveidiom C2 出于爱好而做的困难工作;甘愿做的事
a piece of hard work that you do because you enjoy it and not because you will receive money or praise for it, or because you need to do it
He's always working on his car - it's a labour of love. 他总是在鼓捣他的汽车——那是他的爱好。
labour
verb UK (US labor) uk/ˈleɪ.bər/ us/ˈleɪ.bɚ/
[ I ]劳动，劳作，干重活儿
to do hard physical work
He travelled around Europe labouring to pay his way. 他靠打工挣路费周游了欧洲。
[ + to infinitive ] Three hours after the explosion, rescue teams were still labouring to free those trapped. 爆炸发生3小时后，救援队员还在奋力解救被困人员。
[ I + adv/prep ]艰难地做，费劲儿地工作
to do something slowly with great physical or mental effort
He laboured up the hill with his heavy load. 他负重艰难地登上了山顶。
She's been labouring over the same article for days. 她为了这篇文章已经苦熬好几天了。
Idioms
labour the pointidiom 反复强调，不厌其烦地表明，三番五次地说明
to try too hard to express an idea, feeling, or opinion, repeating it when this is not necessary
Look, there's no need to labour the point - I made a mistake - I admit it! 喂，用不着三番五次地说来说去——我犯了错误——我承认！
labour under the delusion, illusion, misapprehension, etc.idiom 有错觉／幻想／误解（等等）
to wrongly believe that something is true
At the time I was still labouring under the delusion that the project might be a success. 当时我仍在幻想那个项目可能会成功。