labor at
Synonyms
Examples
Listen to the cry of a woman in labor at the hour of giving birth - look at the dying man's struggle at his last extremity, and then tell me whether something that begins and ends thus could be intended for enjoyment.
No country can sustain, in idleness, more than a small percentage of its numbers. The great majority must labor at something productive.
If baking is any labor at all, it's a labor of love. A love that gets passed from generation to generation.