day labor

American  

noun

1. workers hired on a daily basis only, especially unskilled labor.

2. work done by a day laborer.

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Etymology

Origin of day labor

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

Example Sentences

CARECEN’s day labor center is just minutes away from the store.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 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

One of the substantial victories of the 1934 Bay Area strike was the replacement of the shape-up system—the informal hustle for day labor work—with a union-operated hiring hall that worked to racially integrate the workforce.

From Salon • Apr. 11, 2019

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