laboratory

IPA/ləˈbɒrətri/
KK[lˈæbrətˌɔri]IPA/ˈlæbrətɔːri/

laboratory — noun

  • laboratorysingular
  • laboratoriesplural

1. A specially designed room or building where scientists and students carry out ex

1.nounB1
Definition

A specially designed room or building where scientists and students carry out experiments, perform chemical tests, or prepare medicines; found in schools, hospitals, universities, and research centers.

Example

Stephanie spent all afternoon in the laboratory mixing chemicals for her experiment.

collocation: in the laboratory / laboratory experiment

The school built a new laboratory with enough microscopes for every student.

Common collocations
  • laboratory equipment
  • laboratory test
  • laboratory experiment
  • research laboratory
  • science laboratory
  • chemistry laboratory
  • laboratory assistant
  • laboratory report
Synonyms
  • lab

    the common short form, used in both formal and informal contexts

  • research facility

    broader; may include offices and equipment storage, not just experiment space

  • testing facility

    focuses on quality-control testing rather than open-ended research

Usage Note

In everyday speech, speakers often shorten 'laboratory' to 'lab' (e.g., 'the chemistry lab'). The full form is standard in formal academic writing.

Common Mistakes

He works in a laboratory room at the factory.
He works in a laboratory at the factory.
'laboratory' already implies a room or building; adding 'room' is redundant.

2. A place, environment, or situation that allows people to try out new ideas, meth

2.nounB2
Definition

A place, environment, or situation that allows people to try out new ideas, methods, or systems and observe the results — similar to a scientific laboratory but not necessarily involving science.

Example

The city has become a laboratory for testing new ideas in public transportation.

figurative: a laboratory for testing [ideas]

With its diverse population, the neighbourhood served as a social laboratory for the research team.

collocation: social laboratory

Common collocations
  • social laboratory
  • political laboratory
  • cultural laboratory
  • laboratory for democracy
  • laboratory for innovation
Synonyms
  • testing ground

    emphasises trying a method before wider use; more informal

  • proving ground

    implies a final evaluation of worth, not just learning

  • incubator

    suggests nurturing and growth, not just testing

Usage Note

This figurative sense appears most often in academic writing, journalism, and political commentary. The subject is commonly a city, region, institution, or situation, not a physical room with equipment.

Common Mistakes

The project became a laboratory for testing ideas' (vague).
The pilot programme in three schools became a laboratory for testing a new teaching method.
the figurative sense needs a concrete referent and a specific scope.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Laboratory' and 'lab' refer to the same physical space, but 'lab' is the informal shorthand used in everyday conversation (e.g., 'I have lab at 2 pm'), while 'laboratory' is preferred in formal writing. 'Research facility' is a broader term that includes offices, storage rooms, and meeting spaces alongside lab areas. 'Testing facility' specifically describes a site where products or samples undergo quality or safety checks, rather than open-ended scientific discovery. 'Workshop' is a different kind of space entirely — it is used for making or repairing things with tools, not for conducting scientific experiments. For example, a hospital may have a testing facility for bloodwork next to a research laboratory where scientists develop new treatments, while the carpentry workshop is in a separate building.

lab ↗research facilitytesting facilityworkshop ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • laboratory results
  • laboratory work
  • laboratory conditions
  • laboratory staff
  • laboratory safety

Phrases

  • laboratory of ideas
  • laboratory for change

Prepositions

  • in a/the laboratory
  • at a/the laboratory
  • from a/the laboratory

Etymology

LatinMedieval LatinEnglish

The word 'laboratory' entered English in the early 1600s from the Medieval Latin 'laboratorium,' meaning 'a place for work or labor.' This comes from the Latin verb 'laborare' (to work), which also gave us 'labor.' The earliest laboratories were alchemists' workshops where people worked with chemicals and metals long before modern science.