label
a slip of paper, cloth, or other material, marked or inscribed, for attachment to something to indicate its manufacturer, nature, ownership, destination, etc.: The medicine bottle should have a label on it with the dosing instructions.
a short word or phrase descriptive of a person, group, intellectual movement, etc.: The label “progressive” can be used to describe many different political movements.
a word or phrase indicating that what follows belongs in a particular category or classification: The label “Formal” marks words used in academic or business contexts.
Architecture. a molding or dripstone over a door or window, especially one that extends horizontally across the top of the opening and vertically downward for a certain distance at the sides.
a brand or trademark under which something, such as clothing or music, is manufactured and sold: She records under her own label.Chanel has launched a new label for ready-to-wear couture.
the manufacturer using such a label: All the big-name labels will have a runway show during Fashion Week.Major labels are feeling the economic crunch and are no longer signing small acts or individual musicians.
Heraldry. a narrow horizontal strip with a number of downward extensions of rectangular or dovetail form, usually placed in chief as the cadency mark of an eldest son.
Obsolete. a strip or narrow piece of anything.
to affix a label to; mark with a label: The drawers have all been labeled with their contents.
to designate or describe by or on a label: The bottle was labeled poison.
to put in a certain class; classify: It's easy to label someone as difficult and stop trying, but curiosity and compassion can often get you further.
Also radiolabel. Chemistry. to incorporate a radioactive or heavy isotope into (a molecule) in order to make traceable.
Origin of label
1Other words from label
- la·bel·er, noun
- non·la·bel·ing, adjective, noun
- non·la·bel·ling, adjective, noun
- pre·la·bel, noun, verb (used with object), pre·la·beled, pre·la·bel·ing or (especially British) pre·la·belled, pre·la·bel·ling.
- re·la·bel, verb (used with object), re·la·beled, re·la·bel·ing or (especially British) re·la·belled, re·la·bel·ling.
- un·la·beled, adjective
- un·la·belled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for label
/ (ˈleɪbəl) /
a piece of paper, card, or other material attached to an object to identify it or give instructions or details concerning its ownership, use, nature, destination, etc; tag
a brief descriptive phrase or term given to a person, group, school of thought, etc: the label "Romantic" is applied to many different kinds of poetry
a word or phrase heading a piece of text to indicate or summarize its contents
a trademark or company or brand name on certain goods, esp, formerly, on gramophone records
another name for dripstone (def. 2)
heraldry a charge consisting of a horizontal line across the chief of a shield with three or more pendants: the charge of an eldest son
computing a group of characters, such as a number or a word, appended to a particular statement in a program to allow its unique identification
chem a radioactive element used in a compound to trace the mechanism of a chemical reaction
to fasten a label to
to mark with a label
to describe or classify in a word or phrase: to label someone a liar
to make (one or more atoms in a compound) radioactive, for use in determining the mechanism of a reaction
Origin of label
1Derived forms of label
- labeller, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for label
[ lā′bəl ]
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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