day labor
Americannoun
-
workers hired on a daily basis only, especially unskilled labor.
-
work done by a day laborer.
Etymology
Origin of day labor
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50
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.
The raid occurred about 8:30 a.m. and involved both marked and unmarked vans, according to the Pomona Economic Opportunity Center, a nonprofit day labor organization.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2025
Children find roofing work through churches, in Facebook groups and at day labor sites, where workers of all ages gather in the mornings in hopes of being chosen for jobs.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 23, 2023
The markets’ popularity diminished in the ’40s after Mayor Fiorello La Guardia opened hiring halls, where contracts were signed laying out terms for day labor arrangements.
From New York Times ● Sep. 18, 2020
Angel hoped to help Greenwell start a tree-planting business that could free him from the vicissitudes of day labor and help him build a future.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 13, 2020
Many Irish immigrants remained mired in poverty, relying on sporadic day labor to keep them afloat.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
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.
