a person in charge of a particular department, group of workers, etc., as in a factory or the like.
the member of a jury selected to preside over and speak for all the jurors on the panel.
Gender-neutral form: supervisor. a person, often experienced, who supervises other workmen
Female equivalent: forewoman. law the principal juror, who presides at the deliberations of a jury
See -man.
1175–1225; Middle English forman chief servant, steward. See fore-, man
On many job sites, the boss or supervisor is called the foreman. If you get a job on a construction crew, the foreman is the person in charge. While the supervisor in an office, hospital, or school has a totally different title, in manual labor it's common to use the word foreman. This is true in factories and plants, as well as on ranches and railroads. Even on a jury there's a foreman, the member who announces the group's verdict. A woman in one of these roles might be called foreman, forewoman, or foreperson. A simpler, gender-neutral compromise is to use "supervisor" instead.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After the accident, a foreman at the site told authorities that Bautista may have incorrectly assumed that the beam he strapped himself to was securely anchored to the ground, according to the report.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
Pete Hawkins, aged 17 at the time, was working nearby with the son of foreman Jim Flint.
From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026
And after she came back to California and got married, she and her husband, the Rindge ranch foreman, started up a Guernsey milk business that became one of the biggest dairy operations in the world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2026
Ivan Smith, foreman of Works at Newbridge House and Traditional Farm, said the team was "absolutely shocked" by the incident.
From BBC ● Nov. 28, 2025
Officer Delinko shot the foreman a dirty look before addressing Mr. Muckle.
From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen
Craig Foreman was arrested with his wife, Lindsay, in January last year while passing through Iran on a motorcycle journey from Europe to Australia.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Craig and Lindsay Foreman remain barred from contacting their children or loved ones, the family have said.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
George Foreman and Muhammad Ali climbed off the couch too many times to mention.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
Craig and Lindsay Foreman, from East Sussex, have been held since January 2025 and were sentenced to 10 years in February on espionage charges which they deny.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
Maybe we can follow this one up with dancing and refreshments. 6TH JUROR: Mr. Foreman?
From "Twelve Angry Men" by Reginald Rose
The colonial trade also ravaged the archipelago's forests and wrecked communities, with able-bodied men required to offer 40 days of unpaid service to fell trees and build ships under Spanish foremen.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
The biggest holdup in the fiber boom, he said, is human capital for roles including drillers, foremen, splicers and aerial linemen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 1, 2026
Hourly wages under the limited energy electrician contract heading into negotiations range from $17 for entry-level installers to $51.96 for foremen.
From Seattle Times ● May 21, 2024
Besides the Egyptian labourers used to clear the tomb site, Carter also employed skilled Egyptian foremen, including Ahmed Gerigar, Gad Hassan, Hussein Abu Awad and Hussein Ahmed Said.
From BBC ● Nov. 25, 2022
Beijing’s distaste for North Korean defectors, as enforced by police and border soldiers, is well understood by farmers, factory foremen, and other bosses in China’s northeast provinces.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
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.
