2 syllables: la, bours. Stress on la.
/ˈleɚz/
Say it backLabours is the third-person singular present of labour as a verb (British English) and the plural noun form in British usage for organized work efforts, or the act of working hard. In contexts, it often refers to effort expended, or to inefficiencies and strenuous tasks. The term spans formal and historical registers, and in labor- or industry-related discussions, it can appear in both metaphorical and literal senses.
"- The engineers labours for hours to complete the project before the deadline."
"- Her labours on the farm increased yields for the season."
"- These labours highlight the costs of production in the supply chain."
Phonetic guidance: /ˈleɪ.bɔːz/ in UK and many Commonwealth varieties; US readers often encounter /ˈleɪ.bɚz/ in loaned or quoted British spellings. The stress is on the first syllable: LA-bours. For careful enunciation, start with a clear long A in the first syllable, then a rounded back open-mid vowel in the second, followed by a voiced sibilant. Audio references: listen to Cambridge/UK dictionaries and Forvo entries for native speakers to hear the /ɔː/ or /ɜː/ in context.
Common mistakes: (1) pronouncing the second syllable with a short /ɪ/ or /ə/ instead of the back rounded /ɔː/ or /ɜː/. (2) misplacing the primary stress, thinking it’s on the second syllable. (3) blending the final /z/ with a voiceless /s/. Correction tips: emphasize /ɔː/ or /ɜː/ in the second syllable with a closed jaw posture, keep the final /z/ voiced and not devoiced, and maintain a strong initial /ˈleɪ/ syllable. Practice with minimal pairs and audio cues.
Differences: US: /ˈleɚz/ or /ˈleɪ.bɚz/ with rhotic /ɚ/. UK/RI: /ˈleɪ.bɔːz/ with non-rhotic /ɔː/ in stressed second syllable; AU: /ˈleɪ.bɔːz/ similar to UK but with Australian vowel quality and non-rhoticity. The main vowel in the second syllable shifts: US tends toward rhotacized endings (/ɚ/), while UK/AU favor a long, rounded /ɔː/ or /ɒː/ depending on vowel chain. Practice listening to British and Australian corpora to calibrate.
Because of the diphthong in the first syllable (the /eɪ/ in 'la'), the back rounded vowel in the second syllable (/ɔː/ or /ɜː/ depending on accent), and the voiced final consonant cluster /bz/ that requires a smooth transition from a voiced consonant to a voiced sibilant without voicing loss in rapid speech. Additionally, the spelling with -ours cues British/Commonwealth pronunciations that students may not be familiar with in American contexts.
Yes. When pluralized as 'labours', the word carries British spellings and thus the /ˈleɪ.bɔːz/ or /ˈleɪ.bɔːrz/ patterns and often non-rhotic accents. The American 'labor' lacks the -ours ending and the second syllable vowel differs in typical American practice. The key is to hold the second syllable vowel long and the final /z/ voiced, with careful placement of lip rounding in preparation for the /ɔː/ or /ɜː/ colors.
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The word labour derives from the Old French travailler, ultimately from the Latin labor, meaning ‘work, force, effort’. The English noun labour emerged in Middle English in the 13th century, initially denoting hard physical work or exertion. The verb form labour/travaille appeared in varied spellings through the later Middle Ages, aligning with the broader family of romance-language cognates. In British English, labour has retained standard spellings with -our, while American English favors labor. The plural 'labours' is used when referring to multiple instances of labor, or the noun plural in contexts like workforce activities and acts of working. Over centuries, labour accrued legal and economic connotations (labour rights, labour unions), embedding the term in policy discourse. The sense evolution moves from general effort to structured, systemic work (industrial, agricultural, and social scales), while metaphorical uses (labours of life) reflect enduring cultural emphasis on value and endurance in work. First known use in English can be traced to medieval texts where labor and its derivatives appeared in religious, agricultural, and clerical records, signaling both physical toil and moral or communal obligations tied to labor. Today, labours is common in British English to denote both plural activities (
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "labours" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "labours" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "labours"
-urs sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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