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• hard hat
  hard hat

  noun

  a protective helmet of metal or plastic, especially as worn by construction or factory workers.
• hard-hat
  hard-hat

  noun

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

hard hat

¹ American  

noun

• hard hats
  plural

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.

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hard-hat ² American  

[hahrd-hat] / ˈhɑrdˌhæt /

Or hardhat

noun

Informal.

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

2. a working-class conservative.

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adjective

1. pertaining to or characteristic of hard-hats.

   enlisting hard-hat support for his policies.

hard hat British  

noun

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

2. informal a construction worker

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adjective

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

hard hat Idioms  

1. 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]

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• hard hats
  plural

Etymology

Origin of hard hat¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Origin of hard-hat²

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hard hat hard-hat

In a hard hat and hi-viz vest, Asdourian appears climbing ladders to tape- and marker-over all mentions of the brand.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026

Wahl said a bullet may have deflected off the landscaper's hard hat, although this had yet to be confirmed.

From BBC ● May 19, 2026

On nearby benches, one person in scrubs and another in a reflective vest and hard hat ate their Tupperware lunches, like some kind of Village People reboot waiting to happen.

From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2025

Also inside the suspects’ car, officers found several jewelry boxes, along with a construction hard hat and a vest, which could be used to get near a home without drawing attention, police said.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2024

Straps from a hard hat had been rigged to fit the manservant’s cranium.

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

Many dividend paying companies are in old-line, hard-hat industries such as industrials and materials.

From Barron's ● Mar. 6, 2026

While I could only envision the impending displays from a hard-hat tour and renderings, these spaces seem a welcome addition to the full story of Mount Vernon.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 7, 2026

“He has a hard-hat mentality, blue-collar guy. I just appreciate how he went about things and I just wanted to reward him.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2024

By contrast, the gala was the first time Geffen saw the redone hall bearing his name; he never joined the hard-hat construction tours that Lincoln Center gave to dignitaries over these past two years.

From New York Times ● Oct. 30, 2022

He tightened the hard-hat straps, striding brusquely to the door.

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

Related Words

• helmet