How to pronounce “labor”
Say “labor” in 2 beats
labor
/ˈleɪbɚ/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /leɪbə/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- lableɪstress
- orbɚ
- IPA (American)
- /ˈleɪbɚ/
- IPA (British)
- /leɪbə/
- Respelling
- LAY-buh
- Syllables
- 2 — LAB-or
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: LAB-or. “lab” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun, verb
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/ˈleɪbɚ/
/leɪbə/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “labor” means
- noun
a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages
“there is a shortage of skilled labor in this field”
- noun
productive work (especially physical work done for wages)
“his labor did not require a great deal of skill”
- noun
concluding state of pregnancy; from the onset of contractions to the birth of a child
“she was in labor for six hours”
Say it in a sentence
“The renovation required months of hard physical labor.”“labor”, answered
How do you pronounce “labor”?
“labor” is pronounced /ˈleɪbɚ/ (LAY-buh) in American English and /leɪbə/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “lab”. Build it as LAB-or, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “labor” have?
2: lab · or. The beat lands on the first, “lab”.
Is “labor” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈleɪbɚ/ (LAY-buh); British English says /leɪbə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “labor” mean?
As a noun: a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages For example: “there is a shortage of skilled labor in this field” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “labor”?
Stress the first syllable: LAB-or. “lab” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “labor” and see every sound
Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.