Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

laboured

/ˈleɪ.bɚd/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.68 in modern English

Syllables: laboured
IPA: /ˈleɪ.bɚd/

11

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

1

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Expressive of strenuous effort.

British usage

adj

Of writing or speech or similar, stilted or not natural due to too much effort being used in the production.

British usage

verb

simple past and past participle of labour

Example Sentences

"At the end of the marathon, her laboured breathing told us she was exhausted."
"At Par, 150207 is the unit for the 1416 to Newquay. It is quite tatty and lacks tables - but does have plug sockets. It sounds laboured as it leaves, and while it sounds like it's struggling as it tackles Luxulyan, it's not losing time."

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈleɪ.bɚd/
British English: /ˈleɪ.bəd/

Usage

British usage

Inflected Forms

more laboured (comparative) most laboured (superlative) labored (alternative)

Derived Forms

labouredly unlaboured

Synonyms

heavy labored strained

Questions

How do you pronounce laboured?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈleɪ.bɚd/.
What does laboured mean?: Expressive of strenuous effort.

How to pronounce laboured

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “laboured”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈleɪ.bɚd/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “laboured”.
Repeat and practice — Say “laboured” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.