September 5, 2011 - Word of the Day: labor

Because today is Labor Day in the United States, the word "labor" will make a good choice for word of the day. Most people have today off. Labor Day is a workers' holiday. In many countries around the world, May 1 (May Day) is the workers' holiday. In the United States this holiday always falls on the first Monday in September.

The word "labor" basically just means "work." The sentences below show how it's used as a noun:

• Workers deserve a fair wage for their labor.
• The total cost for the car repair is$280. That includes parts and labor.
• Painting a house requires a lot of labor.
• The labor for the construction project is almost finished.

These sentences use "labor" as a verb:

• The workers labored through the night to get the work done.
• Joe labors day and night to provide for his family.
• The police have labored to make the neighborhood safer.

Sometimes you hear "labor" used as an adjective:

• Labor costs are going down in some parts of the United States because of the recession.

A person who does manual work is sometimes referred to as a laborer.

Word of the Day for September 4, 2011: sore

Word of the Day: August 2011

Word of the Day: July 2011