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guest worker

American  

noun

  1. a foreign worker permitted to work in a country, especially in Western Europe, on a temporary basis.


Etymology

Origin of guest worker

1965–70; translation of German Gastarbeiter

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:

“As for the farmers, there is a guest worker program that President Trump supports,” Mr. Miller replied.

From The Wall Street Journal Oct. 29, 2025

To address the tight labor market, the National Assn. of Home Builders has advocated for a guest worker program.

From Los Angeles Times Jan. 19, 2025

You would think that a guest worker programme would be a good start, since we have labour shortages all over the country.

From BBC Oct. 6, 2023

In the 1990s they leveraged their political connections once more to move their undocumented Mexican workers onto the federal H-2A guest worker program.

From Salon Jun. 8, 2023

It would have awarded visas based on a points system, with about 50 percent based on job skills, and included temporary guest worker programs.

From New York Times May 14, 2023

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