1
                           general:: 
                            Phrase(s): in labor 
[of a woman] experiencing the pains and exertion of childbirth.  •  Susan was in labor for nearly eight hours.  •  As soon as she had been in labor for an hour, she went to the hospital.
                        
                        
 
                        
                            McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs