worker

American  

[wur-ker] / ˈwɜr kər /

noun

1. a person or thing that works.

2. a laborer or employee.

   steel workers.

3. a person engaged in a particular field, activity, or cause.

   a worker in psychological research; a worker for the Republican Party.

4. Entomology.

   1. a member of a caste of sexually underdeveloped, nonreproductive bees, specialized to collect food and maintain the hive.

   2. a similar member of a specialized caste of ants, termites, or wasps.

5. Printing. one of a set of electrotyped plates used to print from (molder ).

6. any of several rollers covered with card clothing that work in combination with the stripper rollers and the cylinder in the carding of fibers.

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worker British  

/ ˈwɜːkə /

noun

1. a person or thing that works, usually at a specific job

   a good worker

   a research worker

2. an employee in an organization, as opposed to an employer or manager

3. a manual labourer or other employee working in a manufacturing or other industry

4. any other member of the working class

5. a sterile female member of a colony of bees, ants, or wasps that forages for food, cares for the larvae, etc

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Other Word Forms

• nonworker noun
• subworker noun
• workerless adjective

Etymology

Origin of worker

First recorded in 1300–50, worker is from the Middle English word werker, worcher. See work, -er ¹

Example Sentences

His former teammate sees in Bronny what his current teammates do: A hard worker who needs only to nurture his confidence to be able to contribute in the NBA.

From Los Angeles Times

Bastian led me up Bunker Hill to California Plaza, where office workers were enjoying the sunshine.

From Los Angeles Times

The Houston Food Bank has held special drives for families and workers impacted by the government shutdown.

From The Wall Street Journal

Both Google and Meta have been laying off workers as they spend more on AI.

From Los Angeles Times

The good news is we aren’t on the precipice of a massive surge in unemployment from AI replacing workers.

From Barron's

Related Words

• employee
• laborer
• staff