laborious

adjective

la·​bo·​ri·​ous lə-ˈbȯr-ē-əs How to pronounce laborious (audio)
1
a
: involving, requiring, or characterized by hard and sustained effort : arduous
Overland travel was not an adventurous communal leap, but a laborious, individual trek.Daniel J. Boorstin
Making a telescope mirror is a long and laborious process.David Devoss and Eric Sander
b
: characterized by long, detailed elaboration : tedious
Much of the middle of the book is a laborious account of the scouring of the ocean floor that led to the discovery of the Titanic.The Economist
2
: devoted to labor : industrious
We have the greatest riches, the greatest fertility, … the most laborious population.Joseph Conrad
laboriously adverb
laboriousness noun

Examples of laborious in a Sentence

a slow and laborious process the volunteers have been commendably laborious in their cleanup of the beach
Recent Examples on the Web Amending the constitution is a laborious process and a rare event in France. Barbara Surk, Fortune Europe, 4 Mar. 2024 Creating these hats is a laborious process that requires special machinery from the 1930s and ’40s, which Thompson considers the golden age of his craft. Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 3 Mar. 2024 The onboarding and offboarding process—also laborious and time-consuming—can be streamlined through automation as well. Douglas Murray, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 Jefferson: The opening was slower and more laborious in getting Monk to Boston. Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 16 Dec. 2023 But the content creators who showcase recipes have a more complicated and laborious work flow. Connie Ogle, Miami Herald, 16 Feb. 2024 But being able to stop outsourcing drawings, a laborious process that required weeks of back and forth on small changes, helped the company to cut the time to market with a new housing community from 120 days to 30 days. Amy Feldman, Forbes, 15 Feb. 2024 Vacuuming seems like a simple solution, but hauling a heavy device around your home every day just to suck up the occasional furball or crumby mess is laborious, especially after a long work day. Wendy Vazquez, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Jan. 2024 That laborious process finally revealed the car’s true silver finish. Robert Ross, Robb Report, 30 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'laborious.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of laborious was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near laborious

Cite this Entry

“Laborious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/laborious. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

laborious

adjective
la·​bo·​ri·​ous lə-ˈbōr-ē-əs How to pronounce laborious (audio)
-ˈbȯr-
1
: devoted to work : industrious
2
: requiring hard effort
laboriously adverb
laboriousness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on laborious

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