Meanings
nounlaboring oar (plural laboring oars)
plural laboring oars · alternative UK labouring oar
- USbroadlyfigurativelyThe part of a task that requires the greatest effort to achieve.
And so too, when new issues demanding new policy calls come up within that scheme, Congress presumably wants the same agency, rather than any court, to take the laboring oar.
2019, Kisor v. Wilkie (U.S. Supreme Court No. 18-15), Justice Kagan
Cite this entry
APA
laboring oar. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/laboring%20oar
MLA
“laboring oar.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/laboring%20oar. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “laboring oar,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/laboring%20oar.
Source: laboring oar on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.