white-collar

American  

[hwahyt-kol-er, wahyt-] / ˈʰwaɪtˈkɒl ər, ˈwaɪt- /

adjective

1. belonging or pertaining to the ranks of office and professional workers whose jobs generally do not involve manual labor or the wearing of a uniform or work clothes.

---

noun

1. a white-collar worker.

white-collar British  

adjective

1. of, relating to, or designating nonmanual and usually salaried workers employed in professional and clerical occupations Compare blue-collar pink-collar

   white-collar union

---

white-collar Cultural  

1. A descriptive term for office workers, who use a minimum of physical exertion, as opposed to blue-collar laborers. Managerial, clerical, and sales jobs are common white-collar occupations.

---

Etymology

Origin of white-collar

First recorded in 1920–25

Compare meaning

How does white-collar compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• blue-collar vs. white-collar

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

white-collar

Even graduates are struggling: a 2026 Azim Premji University study found fewer than 7% of jobseekers secured permanent salaried work within a year, and fewer than 4% landed white-collar jobs.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

That points to another conundrum for the health-conscious white-collar urban workforce: Greens are everywhere and in everything.

From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026

Boehner hadn’t granted an interview in a year until I asked him to help me understand why white-collar men are obsessed with their lawns.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

Furthermore, it’s too early to sound the “all-clear” on job displacement for white-collar workers due to AI, according to Vaillancourt.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026

Liberals and conservatives, traditionalists and reformers, white-collar officials and blue-collar miners, all remained loyal to him, not because they always agreed with him, but because the regent listened to and respected all different opinions.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Related Words

• clerical
• salaried