Laboratory /(?)/

pl. Laboratories

1. The workroom of a chemist; also, a place devoted to experiments in any branch of natural science; as, a chemical, physical, or biological laboratory. Hence, by extension, a place where something is prepared, or some operation is performed; as, the liver is the laboratory of the bile.
2. Any place, activity or situation suggestive of a scientific laboratory{1}, especially in being conducive to learning new facts by experimentation or by systematic observation; as, the states serve as laboratories where different new policies may be tested prior to adoption throughout the country.