2 syllables: la, bour. Stress on la.
/ˈleɪbɚ/
Say it backLabour refers to work, toil, or the process of childbirth. In British English it commonly means strenuous physical or mental effort, or the act of giving birth, while in American English the spelling shifts to “labor.” The term can also describe the workforce or organized workers in a collective sense. It emphasizes sustained effort, delay, or motion toward a task rather than a single, casual activity.
- You’ll often over-articulate the second syllable, sounding like ‘lay-bore’; instead, keep the second syllable light: /lə/ or /bə/ depending on accent. - Another mistake is misplacing the stress, saying ‘lab-our’ with weak first syllable; keep primary stress on the first syllable /ˈleɪ/ and a reduced second syllable. - Finally, mispronouncing the /ɹ/ or /ə/ endings in rhotic accents; US speakers should aim for a non-rhotic or lightly rhotic ending depending on region; UK/AU prefer a non-rhotic, with final schwa. Practical tips: exaggerate the first vowel slightly, then relax into a quick, soft second syllable. Record and compare to native audio to adjust.
"The workers organized a union to protect their wages and labour rights."
"Her late-night project required long hours of labour and careful attention to detail."
"During the labour, the medical team monitored the baby’s heart rate and the mother’s contractions."
You say it as two syllables: /ˈleɪ.bə/ in standard British and American practice, with primary stress on the first syllable. The first syllable rhymes with “lay,” the second is a schwa (ə) pronounced softly, like the “a” in about. In US and UK, the same two-syllable pattern exists, though the final consonant is lighter in U.S. speech. Listen for the long first vowel and a reduced second vowel. IPA: US/UK: /ˈleɪ.bər/ or /ˈleɪ.bə/ depending on accent; Australian often mirrors UK: /ˈleɪ.bə/.
Two frequent errors: (1) Treating the second syllable as a full vowel like ‘labor’ with strong rhotic ending; correct is a reduced schwa or a light ‘ə’ which makes it /ˈleɪ.bə/ (US may be /ˈleɪ.bər/ with a rhotic ending in some speakers). (2) Misplacing the primary stress or nasalization making it sound like ‘lay-bore’; ensure stress on first syllable and the second syllable remains unstressed. Practice smooth transition from /eɪ/ to /ə/ without adding a vowel in between.
- US: often /ˈleɪ.bər/, with rhotic /ɹ/ and a more pronounced final ‘r’. Vowel is a tense diphthong /eɪ/. - UK: /ˈleɪ.bə/ with non-rhotic final, a quick, clipped second syllable, and a schwa-like ending. - AU: /ˈleɪ.bə/ similar to UK but with slightly more open and centralized final vowel, still non-rhotic. In all, primary stress remains on the first syllable; the ending vowel quality and rhoticity vary.
Key challenges include producing the long /eɪ/ diphthong in the first syllable, then switching to a weak, unstressed /ə/ or rhotic /ər/ in the second, depending on accent. The contrast between a tense vowel /eɪ/ and a reduced schwa is subtle; many speakers add an extra vowel or over-articulate the second syllable. Additionally, regional variance in the rhotic vs non-rhotic ending makes cross-dialect pronunciation tricky.
Is the second syllable always unstressed and reduced across all dialects? In UK English, yes, typically /ləˈbɒː/ in older varieties or /ləˈboː/ in some varieties, but standard practical modern forms are /ˈleɪ.bə/ or /ˈleɪ.bər/ with a reduced final vowel; the exact vowel quality can shift by region, but the first syllable remains stressed. This subtlety meaningfully affects rhythm and intelligibility across contexts.
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- US: emphasize rhotic /ɹ/ when present; make ending more pronounced if needed, but keep final vowel short. - UK: typically non-rhotic; ensure ending is a soft /ə/ or /əɹ/ depending on speaker. - AU: often non-rhotic, final vowel closer to /ə/; keep it light and relaxed. Vowel transitions: /eɪ/ to schwa; mouth opens for /eɪ/, then relaxes to central /ə/. IPA references: US /ˈleɪ.bɚ/; UK /ˈleɪ.bə/; AU /ˈleɪ.bə/.
Labour comes from the Old French labour, later Latin labor, from labōr- (work, exertion, strain). The word’s journey into English traces through Norman influence after the Norman Conquest, where labour described strenuous exertion and the activity of workers. In Middle English, the term generally referred to toil, effort, or service, and by the 14th–15th centuries it had begun to denote both physical work and the act of bearing or giving birth in some contexts. The addition of the concept of organized workers and the labor movement emerged in the 18th–19th centuries, aligning with industrialization and collective bargaining. In current British usage, labour encompasses work in general, childbirth, and the labor movement, while American usage favors the spelling “labor” with similar meanings, particularly in medical and legal contexts. The spelling divergence began to cement in Early Modern English, reflecting standardization trends in different English-speaking regions. First known uses include phrases describing physical toil and service in medieval texts, with broader semantic extension evident in early modern treatises and legal codifications. The etymon highlights shared roots across Romance and Germanic languages, with cognates in French and Latin illustrating the universal concept of work and effort across cultures and eras.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "labour" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "labour" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "labour"
-our sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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