workforce
Americannoun
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the total number of workers in a specific undertaking.
a holiday for the company's workforce.
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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
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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"A Long Way to Go: Minorities and the Media" and "Reza: Warrior of Peace"
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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.
Last month, Reuters reported that the social-media giant was considering laying off up to 20% of its workforce.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 17, 2026
As Nobel Prize-winning economist Claudia Goldin has found, education raises women’s wages as well as the payoff for staying attached to the workforce.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
Philippa Childs, head of broadcasting union Bectu, warned that "cuts of this magnitude" would be "devastating for the workforce and to the BBC as a whole".
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026
Snap said it’s slashing 16% of its full-time workforce and closing more than 300 open roles.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 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
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.
