hard hat

¹

noun

1. a protective helmet of metal or plastic, especially as worn by construction or factory workers.

2. a uniformed soldier of a regular army, as opposed to a guerrilla.

hard-hat

²

Or hard·hat

[hahrd-hat]

noun

Informal.

1. a construction worker, especially a member of a construction workers' union.

2. a working-class conservative.

adjective

1. pertaining to or characteristic of hard-hats.

   enlisting hard-hat support for his policies.

hard hat

noun

1. a hat made of a hard material for protection, worn esp by construction workers, equestrians, etc

2. informal,  a construction worker

adjective

1. informal,  characteristic of the presumed conservative attitudes and prejudices typified by construction workers

Word History and Origins

Origin of hard hat¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Origin of hard hat²

First recorded in 1960–65

Idioms and Phrases

A working-class ultraconservative. For example, They were counting on a large number of votes from the hard hats. This term alludes to the rigid protective headgear worn by construction workers, who were noted for their conservatism during the tumultuous 1960s. [c. 1960]

Example Sentences

The investors donned hard hats and piled into five-person buggies to get a tour of the Abilene campus, which has a 5,000-car parking lot built just for its construction workers.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

They grabbed hard hats and scrambled under desks to wait it out.

Read more on Literature

Mr James, of Ida Road, and a 16-year-old boy were doing hazardous work in darkness without hard hats or adequate training, the court was told on Friday.

Read more on BBC

Rows of factory workers donning white hard hats cheered him on.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“Our members are ready to don their hard hats, their work boots, their tool belts and start moving dirt,” said Medrano, who began his career loading and unloading trucks at the Convention Center.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• helmet