worker
Americannoun
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a person or thing that works.
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a laborer or employee.
steel workers.
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a person engaged in a particular field, activity, or cause.
a worker in psychological research; a worker for the Republican Party.
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Entomology.
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a member of a caste of sexually underdeveloped, nonreproductive bees, specialized to collect food and maintain the hive.
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a similar member of a specialized caste of ants, termites, or wasps.
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Printing. one of a set of electrotyped plates used to print from (contrasted with molder).
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any of several rollers covered with card clothing that work in combination with the stripper rollers and the cylinder in the carding of fibers.
noun
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a person or thing that works, usually at a specific job
a good worker
a research worker
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an employee in an organization, as opposed to an employer or manager
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a manual labourer or other employee working in a manufacturing or other industry
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any other member of the working class
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a sterile female member of a colony of bees, ants, or wasps that forages for food, cares for the larvae, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of worker
First recorded in 1300–50, worker is from the Middle English word werker, worcher. See work, -er 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Oregon’s Worker Fraud Protection Act makes it illegal to “falsely impersonate” a union representative and imposes fines for infractions.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
The Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan has launched a plan to start at least 6,000 rent-controlled 'Key Worker Living Rent' homes in London by 2030.
From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026
Worker bees looking to unwind with a pint don’t often get beyond the glass doors, which sometimes offer a view of empty tables booked by no-show bankers while the main bar is packed.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 18, 2026
Worker unrest could boil over in home country France, largely spared mass layoffs until now, where bosses say they want to slash work-from-home options.
From Barron's • Jan. 22, 2026
“Antipoverty Worker Urges Promotion of Black Power,” shouted the headline in the state’s most important newspaper, the Raleigh News & Observer.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
