foreman
noun
a person in charge of a particular department, group of workers, etc., as in a factory or the like.
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foreman
American
[fawr-muhn, fohr-]
/ ˈfɔr mən, ˈfoʊr- /
noun
-
foremen
plural
-
a person in charge of a particular department, group of workers, etc., as in a factory or the like.
-
the member of a jury selected to preside over and speak for all the jurors on the panel.
foreman
1
British
/ ˈfɔːmən /
noun
-
Gender-neutral form: supervisor. a person, often experienced, who supervises other workmen
-
Female equivalent: forewoman. law the principal juror, who presides at the deliberations of a jury
Foreman
2
British
/ ˈfɔːmən /
noun
Gender
See -man.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of foreman
1175–1225; Middle English forman chief servant, steward. See fore-, man
Explanation
On many job sites, the boss or supervisor is called the foreman. If you get a job on a construction crew, the foreman is the person in charge. While the supervisor in an office, hospital, or school has a totally different title, in manual labor it's common to use the word foreman. This is true in factories and plants, as well as on ranches and railroads. Even on a jury there's a foreman, the member who announces the group's verdict. A woman in one of these roles might be called foreman, forewoman, or foreperson. A simpler, gender-neutral compromise is to use "supervisor" instead.
Vocabulary lists containing foreman
Like A Boss: Words for the Person in Charge
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A Night Divided
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"One Last Time," Vocabulary from the memoir
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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 workers traveled to Russia in groups, accompanied by a director, cook, interpreter, doctor and a foreman, she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
The rescued men, both Nepali, were named as Sanjay Sah, 30, a mechanical foreman, as well as Maharjan, 45, a mechanical supervisor, by Home Minister Sudan Gurung.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
After the jury foreman, when asked “How say you?” answered “Guilty,” 34 times, Trump turned to face the back of the room, looking uncharacteristically stricken.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
Daniel, the foreman in this remote, informal, small-scale mine in Kono, the diamond region of Sierra Leone, shows me the gravel he's picking through with his fingers.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
When he was at the railroad plant and yards, he asked the foreman, "How are these poor people keeping alive? They appear to me to be starved."
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
Outside the ring, he enjoyed enormous commercial success through his George Foreman Grill, which introduced him to an entirely new generation of fans.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026
It also served as the backdrop to some of Foreman’s most memorable moments, including the filming of commercials for his famous George Foreman Grill.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026
Elsewhere, the home includes a second primary suite, additional bedrooms, and generous living areas designed to accommodate the large Foreman family.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026
The Foreign Office said Miliband also used Thursday's meeting to raise the detention of British couple Lindsay and Craig Foreman in Iran.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
“First of all I’m a gun collector,” said former city councilman Vern Foreman.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
The colonial trade also ravaged the archipelago's forests and wrecked communities, with able-bodied men required to offer 40 days of unpaid service to fell trees and build ships under Spanish foremen.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
The biggest holdup in the fiber boom, he said, is human capital for roles including drillers, foremen, splicers and aerial linemen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 1, 2026
Those experiences find their way into the stories in the form of wracked bodies and foremen who vanish come payday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2022
The contracts apply to members of the ILWU’s Coast Longshore Division — marine clerks, foremen and longshore workers employed at 29 West Coast ports.
From Seattle Times ● May 27, 2022
Hill jumped on every chance to bend the ear of the industrialists, explaining why promotion of blacks to foremen would reduce conflict and increase efficiency.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
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