foreman
noun
a person in charge of a particular department, group of workers, etc., as in a factory or the like.
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
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A Night Divided
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"One Last Time," Vocabulary from the memoir
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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:
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
But the site's foreman, a committed revolutionary called Orlando Diaz, insists they are a well-ventilated, smart solution to the capital's acute housing crisis.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
His father held all kinds of jobs, often at the same time: He was a warehouse foreman, ran a fencing company and unloaded box cars.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
Instead, only the foreman signed off on it — the legal equivalent of pulling a fast one on the judicial process.
From Salon ● Dec. 14, 2025
By all reports, the old Phineas was an excellent foreman.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
But relatives of Craig Foreman have said he has been informed that his punishment is now being extended, for talking to the media from his cell in Tehran's Evin prison.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
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
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 have been held since January 2025, and were sentenced in February of this year.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 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
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
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
Meanwhile, work on the hospital did not progress smoothly; twice the contractor was changed, and each man in turn appointed new foremen, and these brought their own labourers.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
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.
