blue-collar
[ bloo-kol-er ]
/ ˈbluˈkɒl ər /
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adjective
of or relating to wage-earning workers who wear work clothes or other specialized clothing on the job, as mechanics, longshoremen, and miners.Compare white-collar.
noun
a blue-collar worker.
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Origin of blue-collar
First recorded in 1945–50
Words nearby blue-collar
blue chip, blue chip stock, bluecoat, blue cod, blue cohosh, blue-collar, blue comb, blue coral, blue crab, blue crane, Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for blue-collar
British Dictionary definitions for blue-collar
blue-collar
adjective
of, relating to, or designating manual industrial workersa blue-collar union Compare white-collar, pink-collar
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for blue-collar
blue-collar
A descriptive term widely used for manual laborers, as opposed to white-collar for office workers.
notes for blue-collar
The term is often associated with conservative values.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.