workforce
Americannoun
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workforces
plural
-
the total number of workers in a specific undertaking.
a holiday for the company's workforce.
-
the total number of people employed or employable.
a sharp increase in the nation's workforce.
noun
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the total number of workers employed by a company on a specific job, project, etc
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the total number of people who could be employed
the country's workforce is growing rapidly
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of workforce
First recorded in 1940–45; work ( def. ) + force ( def. )
Explanation
The term workforce is useful when you talk about a group of people who work or are available to work. You might, for example, talk about the information technology workforce or the workforce in Austin, Texas. When you use the noun workforce, you are always talking about a lot of people, and you're usually referring to everyone in a particular industry or area. Economists often discuss the entire country's workforce, and you've probably heard about the auto industry workforce or the nursing workforce on the news. Workforce can be a singular or plural word, since it's used for a group of many individuals. It's been in use since the early 1960's.
Vocabulary lists containing workforce
The Modern Period, c. 1750 to c. 1914
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 8
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Employment, List 3
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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.
See Examples For:
“The California Community Colleges remain committed to high-quality, affordable bachelor’s degrees that meet workforce needs and are accessible where students live and work,” she said in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
The government predicts about 42,500 new operators will be needed annually to backfill those leaving the job, and to meet the projected 4% growth in that workforce forecast by 2035.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
Japan is facing several economic challenges including a persistently weak yen, rising prices and a shrinking workforce.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
The workforce needs employees who know both when to use technology and when to question it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
She is in charge of a hundred kids and does not care if her workforce is increased by two more.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
Some workforces have raised concerns about staff members leaving jobs due to burnout, including midwifery and teaching.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
The former CEO of Slack, Dresser was tasked with growing sales among large businesses looking to adopt artificial-intelligence tools in their workforces.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Businesses aren’t hiring lots of people, but they are extremely reluctant to shrink their workforces with sales rising and the economy still expanding.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
Some have offered dire warnings about the potential long-term effect of AI on workforces.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Tech companies such as Meta, Amazon, Oracle and others have been slashing their global workforces.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
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.
