blue-collar

[bloo-kol-er]

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.

noun

1. a blue-collar worker.

blue-collar

adjective

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

   a blue-collar union

blue-collar

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

The term is often associated with conservative values.

Word History and Origins

Origin of blue-collar¹

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

All of his children bought homes with their blue-collar incomes.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The median Labour voter is pro-immigration, but Labour voters in crucial blue-collar swing districts are anti-immigration, says Rob Ford, professor of politics at the University of Manchester.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Immigrants do a lot of work, both blue-collar and white-collar, that can’t be replaced by technology.

Read more on Barron's

Blue Labour promotes blue-collar and culturally conservative values within the party – for example on immigration and crime – while remaining committed to left-wing economic policies.

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When he and his siblings — all named after blue-collar jobs — arrived in late July, they were timid.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• apprentice 
• blue-collar worker www.thesaurus.com