blue-collar

[bloo-kol-er]

adjective

1. of or relating to wage-earning workers who wear work clothes or other specialized clothing on the job, as mechanics, longshoremen, and miners.

noun

1. a blue-collar worker.

blue-collar

adjective

1. of, relating to, or designating manual industrial workers Compare white-collar pink-collar

   a blue-collar union

blue-collar

1. A descriptive term widely used for manual laborers, as opposed to white-collar for office workers.

The term is often associated with conservative values.

Word History and Origins

Origin of blue-collar¹

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

Blue Labour promotes blue-collar and culturally conservative values within the party – for example on immigration and crime – while remaining committed to left-wing economic policies.

From BBC

When he and his siblings — all named after blue-collar jobs — arrived in late July, they were timid.

From Los Angeles Times

But once companies develop products based on all that innovation, they’ve tended to move the manufacturing, with its high paying blue-collar jobs, elsewhere, chasing fewer regulations, cheaper energy and a less expensive cost of living.

From Los Angeles Times

Such skepticism is the bitter fruit of a generation of Democratic rule in Sacramento, at a time when blue-collar Latinos are finding it harder to achieve the good life.

From Los Angeles Times

The forces of real estate and the local police department have invested heavily in transforming this blue-collar fishing hamlet into a tony beach resort.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• apprentice 
• blue-collar worker www.thesaurus.com