day labor
Americannoun
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workers hired on a daily basis only, especially unskilled labor.
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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
Two in three workers in the region were in informal employment in 2023, such as day labor, lacking the kinds of protections that come from formal jobs.
From Seattle Times • May 28, 2024
He changed jobs again, picking up better-paying day labor shifts, and said he no longer hoped to attend night school.
From New York Times • Apr. 17, 2023
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
I thought of their husbands, desperately seeking day labor in the city, trying to find any work that they could.
From "How Dare the Sun Rise" by Sandra Uwiringiyimana
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.
