Words / B1

l-uh-BOR-uh-tree/ləˈbɒrətri/

A laboratory is a room for scientific tests: a laboratory test; in the laboratory. Lab is the everyday short form. A clinic sees patients; a laboratory processes samples. Do not call a school classroom a laboratory unless it is fitted for experiments. Lab results is common in health news.

Meaning

A room where scientific tests and research are done.

Examples

• “The blood samples were sent to the laboratory.”
• “The samples went to an outside laboratory for DNA testing.”
• “Lab staff worked overnight, which is the short form in speech.”

Good to know

in the laboratory; a laboratory test. Short: lab. Patients: clinic. Samples: laboratory. Not an ordinary classroom.

Near in meaning

lab

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