Meaning & use
labor of love
Last updated
Meaning
phraseidiomapproving
Work that someone takes on out of deep devotion to the subject or to other people, not because of pay.
Grammar: Works as a countable noun phrase: the book was a labor of love; a labor of love like this.
Patterns
- be a labor of love
- something is a labor of love for someone
Restoring the old farmhouse was a labor of love that took her six summers.
He built the toy theater as a labor of love for his granddaughter.
The community garden is a labor of love run entirely by volunteers.
Common combinations
- a true labor of love
- The documentary was a true labor of love for the whole team.
- become a labor of love
- What began as a hobby became a labor of love.
- a labor of love for someone
- Making the quilt was a labor of love for her new grandson.
- a labor of love that takes years
- The dictionary was a labor of love that took years.
- do something as a labor of love
- He mends bicycles for local kids as a labor of love.
Synonyms and how they differ
- passion project
- Passion project is more modern and informal and stresses personal enthusiasm, while labor of love also hints at long, hard effort.
- vocation
- Vocation is a calling that may be one's real career, whereas a labor of love is often unpaid and done on the side.
- hobby
- A hobby is simply a pastime and need not involve hard work, but a labor of love demands real effort.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: labor of love or labour of love?
labor of love vs labour of love
This is the British spelling of the same phrase; the meaning is identical.
Practice
Which person is most clearly doing a labor of love?
Choose one answer.
A labor of love is demanding work done from devotion, not for payment. The other people work for pay, duty or punishment.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “labor of love”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.