laboratory

noun

lab·o·ra·to·ry ˈla-b(ə-)rə-ˌtȯr-ē

sometimes ˈla-bər-ˌtȯr-,

or ˈla-bə-ˌtȯr-,

or lə-ˈbȯr-ə-ˌtȯr-

plural laboratories

often attributive

: a place equipped for experimental study in a science or for testing and analysis

a research laboratory

broadly : a place providing opportunity for experimentation, observation, or practice in a field of study

: a place like a laboratory for testing, experimentation, or practice

That area is a laboratory for cultivating the germ of terrorism.

: an academic period set aside for laboratory work

a course of study requiring two lectures and one laboratory per week

Example Sentences

experiments conducted in a modern laboratory

Recent Examples on the Web Two more arrays were delivered to the space station on November 27 aboard the 26th SpaceX Dragon commercial resupply mission, which also carried dwarf tomato seeds and other experiments to the orbiting laboratory.

Ashley Strickland, CNN, 3 Dec. 2022 In December 2019, the agency said, the remains of Unknown X-14430 were disinterred as part of the Korean War Disinterment Plan and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis.

Travis Andersen, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Oct. 2022 Siekmann drove to a state laboratory in the city with the bottle on the seat next to him.

Chicago Tribune, 22 Sep. 2022 However, at the very end, on Oct. 12, a Sunday afternoon and early evening, Mr. Gorbachev demanded that Reagan confine his missile defense research to the laboratory.

David E. Hoffman, Washington Post, 30 Aug. 2022 That vehicle, outfitted with everything from an ultrasound machine to a mini-laboratory, serves as the San Diego Humane Society’s mobile veterinary services clinic, and Brookie is among its first patients.

Emily Alvarenga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Aug. 2022 Police Minister Bheki Cele said forensic samples taken from the victims were being sent to a toxicology laboratory in Cape Town, indicating that police were investigating whether the victims had ingested a poison or toxin.

Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, 27 June 2022 It has been shown to be quite toxic, whereas both laboratory and clinical studies on volcanic ash have not shown it to be particularly harmful.

Andrea Thompson, Scientific American, 20 Jan. 2022 The International Space Station Roll Out Solar Arrays, or iROSAs, will be installed outside the floating laboratory during spacewalks scheduled for November 29 and December 3.

Ashley Strickland, CNN, 22 Nov. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'laboratory.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.