foreman
noun
a person in charge of a particular department, group of workers, etc., as in a factory or the like.
Showing results for foreman.
Search instead for
fore man.
foreman
American
[fawr-muhn, fohr-]
/ ˈfɔr mən, ˈfoʊr- /
noun
-
foremen
plural
-
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.
foreman
1
British
/ ˈfɔːmən /
noun
-
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
Foreman
2
British
/ ˈfɔːmən /
noun
Gender
See -man.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of foreman
1175–1225; Middle English forman chief servant, steward. See fore-, man
Explanation
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.
Vocabulary lists containing foreman
Like A Boss: Words for the Person in Charge
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
A Night Divided
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"One Last Time," Vocabulary from the memoir
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
The rescued men, both Nepali, were named as Sanjay Sah, 30, a mechanical foreman, as well as Maharjan, 45, a mechanical supervisor, by Home Minister Sudan Gurung.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
But federal judges are ill-suited to make these decisions or serve the role of chief architect and foreman over complex construction projects.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
After the jury foreman, when asked “How say you?” answered “Guilty,” 34 times, Trump turned to face the back of the room, looking uncharacteristically stricken.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
His absence from work resulted in a demotion from lead foreman to an assistant role.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2026
Since Dad was who he was, she could always be counted on to know the latest on what the company was planning and which foreman was up and which was down.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
Skipp Townsend, the founder of 2nd Call, had hired Foreman in June.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
Both Foreman and his colleague took off running around the corner onto Crenshaw, with the gunman on their heels.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
Foreman and his wife, Mary Joan Martelly, designed the Huffman residence to accommodate their growing family and his expanding collection of automobiles.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026
Elsewhere, the home includes a second primary suite, additional bedrooms, and generous living areas designed to accommodate the large Foreman family.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026
When they had that fight down there with Muhammad Ali and George Foreman we had tons of tourists from that.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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
Construction-software firms are selling AI-powered tools that can assist site managers and foremen with work like analyzing sites for potential safety violations—tasks AI models can accomplish by searching through and synthesizing large amounts of data.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 27, 2026
"My family were quarrymen from the Nantlle Valley in Caernarfonshire, but got good jobs in the mines because of their experience, as foremen and safety officers," Dr Foster Evans said.
From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2023
Of course, there is no such thing as a Super Bowl of baking, or an All-Pro team of the country’s logging foremen.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 1, 2023
Except for the guns, they could be foremen coming to collect on a bill or to supervise a job that other men will sweat over.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
