laborious

/ləˈbɔːɹiəs/

//ləˈbɔːɹiəs// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"laborious" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“laborious” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #37,060. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#37,060
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
12
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Requiring much physical effort; toilsome.

Corpus desk

Index EN-laborious · laborious · English

laborious · rank #37,060 · 12 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #37,060
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH Krystal

Nearest frequency peer: Krystal (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “laborious”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “laborious” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for laborious
PropertyValue
Headwordlaborious
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ləˈbɔːɹiəs/
Letters9
Frequency rank#37,060
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “laborious”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).laboriouslands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Krystal” (#37,059), “knelt” (#37,057), “Laval” (#37,063). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “laborious” is #37,060. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around laborious (IPA /ləˈbɔːɹiəs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #37,060 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for laborious, with forms such as "alborious", "labborious", and "laboirous". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French laborios, from Latin laboriosus. By surface analysis, labor + -ious The correct English form is laborious, spelled L-A-B-O-R-I-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Requiring much physical effort; toilsome.
  2. 2
    Mentally difficult; painstaking.
  3. 3
    Industrious.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how laborious appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Let us face it, our lives are miserable, laborious, and short.
  2. The coal is then transferred to broad-gauge wagons for transport to Dublin. The transhipment is a rather laborious business, the coal being shovelled by hand from one wagon to another.

Etymology

From Old French laborios, from Latin laboriosus. By surface analysis, labor + -ious

Synonyms

painstakingtoilsomeworksomepainful

This word in other languages

laborioso(Español)laborieux(Français)mühselig(Deutsch)laborioso(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • alborious
  • labborious
  • laboirous
  • laboriosu
  • laboriouss
  • laboriuos
  • laboroius
  • laborrious
  • labroious
  • laobrious
  • lbaorious
  • llaborious

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of laborious - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

alborious2labborious1laboirous2laboriosu2laboriouss1laboriuos2laboroius2laborrious1
Edit distance from "laborious"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "laborious"?
"laborious" is spelled L-A-B-O-R-I-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ləˈbɔːɹiəs/.
What does "laborious" mean?
As an adjective, "laborious" means: Requiring much physical effort; toilsome.
What are common misspellings of "laborious"?
Common misspellings include "alborious", "labborious", "laboirous", "laboriosu", "laboriouss". The correct spelling is "laborious".
How do you pronounce "laborious"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "laborious" is /ləˈbɔːɹiəs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "laborious"?
From Old French laborios, from Latin laboriosus. By surface analysis, labor + -ious See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "laborious", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

liquidate#37,068lowercase#37,074inclement#37,043maddening#37,078

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

Krystal12 variantsincensed12 variantsimpostor12 variantsMcHenry12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list