co-worker
Britishnoun
Explanation
A co-worker is someone you work with. Your ice cream shop co-worker might scoop the ice cream while you're on milkshake duty. When you work with someone, that person is your co-worker. The word implies that you work side-by-side — you wouldn't usually refer to your boss as your co-worker. If you work in an office, your co-workers probably have cubicles and computers that are similar to yours, and if you work on a farm your co-workers are right there beside you weeding the beets or watering the tomatoes. The prefix co in co-worker means "together" or "mutually."
Vocabulary lists containing co-worker
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.
A co-worker had asked me to co-host a podcast with her; now that was on hold.
From Slate • Apr. 18, 2026
If so, does their agreement have a “don’t ask, don’t tell” clause, or is your co-worker being asked to give details on the who, when, or how?
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
He said he is often left waiting at the end of a shift for his wife and co-worker Anne, 85, who can always be found on the corner of the crossing talking to passers-by.
From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026
Fox News host — and military veteran — Joey Jones addressed the president and his former co-worker Hegseth directly over the weekend.
From Salon • Apr. 1, 2026
The spontaneous decision to argue with that same co-worker is made unconsciously—by a different part of the brain and motivated by a different part of your personality.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
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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.