Corvée is unfree labour, often unpaid, that is required of people of lower social standing and imposed on them by the state or by a superior (such as an aristocrat or noble). The corvée was the earliest and most widespread form of taxation, which can be traced back to the beginning of civilization. It was state-imposed forced labour on peasants too poor to pay other forms of taxation (labour in ancient Egyptian is a synonym for taxes). The corvée also existed towards feudal superiors (when there was no state framework), and was sometimes levied anyway even on persons with cash resources.

The corvée differs from chattel slavery in that the worker is not owned outright – being free in various respects other than in the dispensation of his or her labour – and the work is usually intermittent; typically only a certain number of days' or months' work is required each year. It is a form of unfree labour where the worker is not, or not fully, compensated. Unlike other forms of levy, such as a tithe, the corvée does not require the population to have land, crops or cash and thus it tends to be favored in economies where money is in short supply. Corvée is thus most often found in economies where barter is the usual method of trade, or in subsistence economies.