Manual labour (manual in American English) or manual work is physical work done by people, most especially in contrast to that done by machines, and also to that done by working animals. It is most literally work done with the hands (the word "manual" comes from the ), and, by figurative extension, it is work done with any of the muscles and bones of the body. For most of human prehistory and history, manual labour and its close cousin, animal labour, have been the primary ways that physical work has been accomplished. Mechanisation and automation, which reduce the need for human and animal labour in production, have existed for centuries, but it was only starting in the 19th century that they began to significantly expand and to change human culture. To be implemented, they require that sufficient technology exist and that its capital costs be justified by the amount of future wages that they will .

Arbeit ist eine zielbewusste und sozial durch Institutionen (Bräuche) abgestützte besondere Form der Tätigkeit, mit der Menschen seit ihrer Menschwerdung in ihrer Umwelt zu überleben versuchen. Dabei ist ihr Charakter zwiespältig: Sie stellt immer sowohl etwas her wie sie auch etwas zerstört, wobei dies Zuschreibungen sind, die von einem Beobachterstandpunkt abhängen.

Se även mekaniskt arbete.

Arbete är en mänsklig verksamhet som genererar ekonomiskt värde i form av varor eller tjänster. En människas resurser för att utföra arbete kallas arbetskraft.

L'etimologia del termine lavoro riporta al latino labor con il significato di fatica.
Sono noti i detti della letteratura classica durar fatica e operar faticando.
Ancora oggi in alcuni dialetti si utilizzano i termini faticare, andare a faticare (come nel dialetto salentino), per intendere lavorare e andare a lavorare.
Altro termine dialettale sinonimo è travaglio.