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lab

/læb/
/læb/
IPA guide

Other forms: labs

A lab is a room or building where science experiments, tests, and research are done. Most high schools have science labs for biology and chemistry classes.

Lab is shorthand for laboratory, with its Medieval Latin root laboratorium, "a place for labor or work," from the Latin laborare, "to work." Many scientists and researchers go to work each day in a lab (often wearing a "lab coat," a white smock that protects their clothes). Some labs are equipped for studying the way plants grow and reproduce, while in others scientists study the brainwaves of human subjects or the traits of a virus. If you are a scientist, chances are you hang out in a lab.

Definitions of lab
  1. noun
    a workplace for the conduct of scientific research
    see moresee less
    types:
    bio lab, biology lab, biology laboratory
    a laboratory for biological research
    chem lab, chemistry lab, chemistry laboratory
    a laboratory for research in chemistry
    defense laboratory
    a laboratory devoted to research and development for national defense
    physics lab, physics laboratory
    a laboratory for research in physics
    type of:
    work, workplace
    a place where work is done
Pronunciation
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/læb/
UK
/læb/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘lab'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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