Cool MateEffort vs Labour
When to use each in English, with meaning, register, and examples.
Effort
Top 1,000 (very common)B1noun
Labour
Top 2,000 (common)B2noun
Most common: Effort
| Effort | Labour | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | 🇬🇧 /["/ˈefət/"]/🇺🇸 /["/ˈefərt/"]/ | 🇬🇧 /["/ˈleɪbə(r)/"]/🇺🇸 /["/ˈleɪbər/"]/ |
| Meaning | The work you put into something to achieve a goal. | Physical work, especially hard work. |
| Example | She put a lot of effort into her painting to make it perfect. | The workers organized a strike to demand better conditions and fair labour practices. |
| Register | Neutral | Neutral |
| How common | Top 1,000 (very common) | Top 2,000 (common) |
| CEFR level | B1 | B2 |
| Part of speech | noun | noun |
| Collocations | ambitious, big, enormous, make, initiate, launch, come to nothing, fail, fall flat, in an/your effort, through somebody’s effort, your best efforts, a reward for your efforts, make every effort, considerable, hard, constant, amount, demand, need, require, go into, with effort, without effort, a great deal of effort, time and effort | manual, physical, back-breaking, withdraw, productivity, camp, manual, physical, back-breaking, withdraw, productivity, camp, free, organized, wage, force, market, pool, difficult, easy, long, go into, induce, room, ward, pains, in labour |
| Antonyms | laziness, apathy, indifference | leisure, idleness, inactivity |
| Common mistakes | Confused with 'effortless'; don't assume effort means easy., Using 'effort' as a verb; it is only a noun., Misplacing 'effort' in a sentence, leading to awkward phrasing. | Confused with 'labor' (American English spelling)., Using 'labour' as a verb incorrectly., Overusing 'labour' in casual conversations; better to use 'work' instead. |
| Usage notes | Use in both formal and informal settings. Avoid slang or overly casual contexts when discussing serious topics like work or study. | Use 'labour' in contexts related to work, especially when discussing physical tasks or efforts. Avoid in casual settings without a clear reference to work. |
Frequently asked questions: Effort vs Labour
What's the difference between Effort and Labour?
Effort: The work you put into something to achieve a goal. Labour: Physical work, especially hard work.
Which is more common: Effort and Labour?
Effort is the most common in everyday English.
Are Effort and Labour the same CEFR level?
Effort: B1, Labour: B2 on the CEFR scale.
Can I use Effort and Labour interchangeably?
Not always. Effort and Labour are related and overlap in some contexts, but they differ in register, how common they are, and usage, so swapping one for another can change the meaning or tone. Check the differences above before substituting.