foreman
noun
a person in charge of a particular department, group of workers, etc., as in a factory or the like.
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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:
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
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
With his breath condensing in clouds in temperatures double figures below zero, a foreman summed the attitude that is common here, when I asked him why Russia was attacking them.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026
This place also has the endless yelling of the foreman.
From "Beast Rider" by Tony Johnston & María Elena Fontanot de Rhoads
Craig and Lindsay Foreman were arrested in January 2025 while passing through Iran on a motorcycle journey from Europe to Australia.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
By the end of the protest, Craig Foreman had been on hunger strike for 93 days, and Lindsay Foreman for 84 days, the family added.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
George Foreman and Muhammad Ali climbed off the couch too many times to mention.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
UN special rapporteurs Dr Alice Edwards and Mai Sato said proceedings against Lindsay and Craig Foreman, from East Sussex, had been marked by grave irregularities.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
The latest news from Mobutu is that he’s bringing two great American boxers, Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, to the stadium in Kinshasa.
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
Three construction foremen taking a break in an alleyway on a recent Wednesday are among the most coveted voters in the country: middle-aged Black men and union members, living in Pennsylvania, the largest battleground state.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2024
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
The lengthy rest breaks were well distributed throughout the shift, arranged according to a labor theorist often quoted by the foremen and managers.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
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.
