blue-collar

American  

[bloo-kol-er] / ˈbluˈkɒl ər /

adjective

1. of or relating to wage-earning workers who wear work clothes or other specialized clothing on the job, as mechanics, longshoremen, and miners.

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noun

1. a blue-collar worker.

blue-collar British  

adjective

1. of, relating to, or designating manual industrial workers Compare white-collar pink-collar

   a blue-collar union

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blue-collar Cultural  

1. A descriptive term widely used for manual laborers, as opposed to white-collar for office workers.

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Discover More

The term is often associated with conservative values.

Etymology

Origin of blue-collar

First recorded in 1945–50

Compare meaning

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

• blue-collar vs. white-collar

Example Sentences

Vocational programs were long seen as places to silo academic underperformers into blue-collar work, administrators note.

From The Wall Street Journal

"They know Rome wasn't built in a day," Vance said in the key, blue-collar swing state of Pennsylvania on Tuesday.

From Barron's

The Dodgers’ marketing strategy aimed at blue-collar fans of the boys in blue isn’t hypocritical.

From Los Angeles Times

That means higher prices, damage to car engines, and fewer good blue-collar jobs.

From The Wall Street Journal

By 1956, white-collar workers outnumbered blue-collar workers for the first time—marking the transition to a service economy.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• apprentice
• blue-collar worker