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shop steward

American

noun

a unionized employee elected to represent a shop, department, or the like, in dealings with an employer.

shop steward British

noun

a coworker elected by trade union members to represent them in discussions and negotiations with the management

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of shop steward

First recorded in 1910–15

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.

See Examples For:

shop steward

Escobar became a shop steward but didn’t think of getting more involved in labor leadership until the early 2000s, when drivers twice crashed into his idling fire truck.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2025

A trade union shop steward in Glasgow's shipyards before he moved into football, Ferguson's final team talk concentrated on working-class values.

From BBC ● May 7, 2023

In October 1991, Ms. LaTour struck up a conversation on an uptown Manhattan A train with Russell Smith, a union tour guide and shop steward.

From New York Times ● Apr. 6, 2023

As a union shop steward, Guerdan had spent many extremely cold days this winter marching in the picket line.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 9, 2023

"Late again, I see," the shop steward growled.

From Meeting of the Board by Nourse, Alan Edward

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023