something that must exist or happen first, before something else can happencondition for/ofOur goal is to create the conditions for a lasting peace.Investment is a necessary condition of economic growth.8illness [countable] an illness or health problem that affects you permanently or for a very long time:People suffering from this condition should not smoke.heart/lung etc conditionShe has a serious heart condition.Was he being treated for any medical condition?9situation of group [singular] formal the situation or state of a particular group of people, especially when they have problems and difficulties:the condition of the poor in our citiesAll my paintings are ultimately about the human condition.10never on no condition never:On no condition should untrained personnel use the equipment. Labour Relations, Unionslabour British English ; labor American English1work [uncountable] work, especially physical work:The garage charges 30 an hour for labour.Many women do hard manual labour (=work with their hands).Workers withdrew their labour (=protested by stopping work) for twenty-four hours. hard labour2workers [uncountable] all the people who work for a company or in a countryCOLLOCATIONS skilled labour (=workers who have special skills)unskilled labour (=workers who have no special skills)casual labour (=workers who do jobs that are not permanent)cheap labourchild labourslave labourlabour costslabour shortagelabour market (=all the people available to work)a shortage of skilled labor Wages for unskilled labour are very low. small commercial farmers who depend on a casual labour supplyThese countries are a source of cheap labour.the use of child labour produce grown by slave laborWe need to reduce our labour costs. Labour shortages have forced the Japanese into making heavy use of industrial robots. the changing role of mothers in the labour market labour force, labour market3baby [singular, uncountable] the process of giving birth to a babyin labourMeg was in labour for ten hours.Diane went into labour at 2 o'clock.a long/short/difficult labourThe labour pains were unbearable.labour ward/room (=a room in a hospital where women give birth)4 a labour of love something that is hard work but that you do because you want to5 somebody's labours formal a period of hard work:After several hours gardening we sat down to admire the results of our labours.Wages wage1 [singular] also wages [plural] money you earn that is paid according to the number of hours, days, or weeks that you work [ salary]:He earns a good wage.wage increase also wage rise British EnglishThe wage increases will come into effect in June.daily/weekly etc wagea weekly wage of $250wage levels/rates (=fixed amounts of money paid for particular jobs) see usage note pay22 a living wage money you earn for work that is enough to pay for the basic things that you need to live:The church no longer paid a living wage.3 wage freeze an action taken by a company, government etc to stop wages increasing4 wage claim the amount of money asked for by workers as an increase in wagesWORD CHOICE pay, salary, wages, wage, income, feePay is the money that you earn by working The pay is much better in the private sector. people on low pay pay negotiationsSomeone's salary is the money they are paid every month by their