laboratory Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a workplace for the conduct of scientific research
    science laboratory; science lab; research laboratory; research lab; lab.
  2. noun a region resembling a laboratory inasmuch as it offers opportunities for observation and practice and experimentation
    testing ground.
    • the new nation is a testing ground for socioeconomic theories
    • Pakistan is a laboratory for studying the use of American troops to combat terrorism

WordNet

Lab"o*ra*to*ry noun
Etymology
Shortened fr. elaboratory; cf. OF. elaboratoire, F. laboratoire. See Elaborate, Labor.
Wordforms
plural Laboratories
Definitions
  1. The workroom of a chemist; also, a place devoted to experiments in any branch of natural science; as, a chemical, physical, or biological laboratory. Hence, by extension, a place where something is prepared, or some operation is performed; as, the liver is the laboratory of the bile.

Webster 1913