labor vs laborer, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“labor” and “laborer” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,763
“labor” frequency rank: #33,304
“laborer” frequency rank: 35067
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	labor	laborer
Definition	Alternative spelling of labour.	One who labors.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set labor and laborer apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

labor

7 ch

laborer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. labor (/ˈleɪ.bɚ/) and laborer (/ˈleɪ.bɚ.ɹɚ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “labor” sits inside “laborer”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35067, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

labor is recorded at frequency rank #1,763, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈleɪ.bɚ/. laborer is at rank #33,304, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈleɪ.bɚ.ɹɚ/.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 35067, this pair ranks #315,181 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of labor vs laborer

Shared letters: ablor. Private to "labor": -. Private to "laborer": e.

"labor" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "laborer" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

labor ← albor · labbor · laborr · labro · laobr · lbaor · llabor
laborer ← alborer · labborer · laboerr · laborerr · laborre · laborrer · labroer · laobrer

Frequency comparison

labor#1,763

laborer#33,304

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "labor" and "laborer" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ˈleɪ.bɚ/ versus /ˈleɪ.bɚ.ɹɚ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "labor" or "laborer"?

"labor" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,763 in our English list, against #33,304 for "laborer". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering labor vs laborer

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “labor” entry
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