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• hard hat
  hard hat

  noun

  a protective helmet of metal or plastic, especially as worn by construction or factory workers.
• hard-hat
  hard-hat

  noun

  a construction worker, especially a member of a construction workers' union.

hard hat

¹ American  

noun

1. a protective helmet of metal or plastic, especially as worn by construction or factory workers.

2. a uniformed soldier of a regular army, as opposed to a guerrilla.

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hard-hat ² American  

[hahrd-hat] / ˈhɑrdˌhæt /

Or hardhat

noun

Informal.

1. a construction worker, especially a member of a construction workers' union.

2. a working-class conservative.

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adjective

1. pertaining to or characteristic of hard-hats.

   enlisting hard-hat support for his policies.

hard hat British  

noun

1. a hat made of a hard material for protection, worn esp by construction workers, equestrians, etc

2. informal a construction worker

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adjective

1. informal characteristic of the presumed conservative attitudes and prejudices typified by construction workers

hard hat Idioms  

1. A working-class ultraconservative. For example, They were counting on a large number of votes from the hard hats. This term alludes to the rigid protective headgear worn by construction workers, who were noted for their conservatism during the tumultuous 1960s. [c. 1960]

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Etymology

Origin of hard hat¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Origin of hard-hat²

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

When opportunity shows up as a hard hat or a pair of overalls, we put them on and get to work.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

He is a Black Brooklyn native who came to the park from work, still dressed in his hi-vis vest and construction hard hat.

From Slate • May 30, 2024

The ads first aired in 2022 and feature CEO Patti Poppe in a company-branded hard hat while saying the company is “transforming your hometown utility from the ground up.”

From Seattle Times • Apr. 22, 2024

Clad in a hard hat, sweater vest and orange work gloves, he drives to a nearby turbine and walks up a staircase to show us the machinery inside.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2024

Or some dumb jingo in his hard hat and Bomb Hanoi button, or one of LBJ’s pretty daughters, or Westmoreland’s whole handsome family—nephews and nieces and baby grandson.

From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien

Related Words

• helmet