Which to use
“labors” and “labours” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,637
- “labors” frequency rank
- #42,229
- “labours” frequency rank
- 78866
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | labors | labours |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of labor | plural of labour |
Same sound, different letters: labors vs labours
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 6 letters.
Ear matches; page differs - labors and labours
This is the hard kind. labors and labours are pronounced identically (/ˈleɪbɚz/) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78866, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
labors is recorded at frequency rank #36,637, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈleɪbɚz/. labours is at rank #42,229, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈleɪbɚz/.
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 78866, this pair ranks #23,579 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of labors vs labours
Shared letters: ablors. Private to "labors": -. Private to "labours": u.
"labors" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "labours" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "labors" and "labours" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "labors" vs "labours" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
"labors" and "labours" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "labors" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "labours" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #23,579 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "labors" and "labours" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "labours vs Latour". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #23,579 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.