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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

There he is in a hard hat in the bowels of the Federal Reserve building, questioning Jerome Powell over the cost of the renovation.

From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2025

Glendale police said that they found several jewelry boxes, along with a construction hard hat and a vest, which police say may have been used to get near a home without drawing attention.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2025

The light from his hard hat lit up an astonishing scene.

From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins

After years of favoring almost exclusively tech stocks connected to artificial intelligence, investors suddenly can’t get enough of hard-hat sectors such as energy, materials, and industrials.

From Barron's ● Mar. 5, 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 was therefore among the first people to take a hard-hat tour of the building when it was under construction so he could familiarize himself with the space.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2025

Lodge wore a hard-hat with a company logo and spoke of the need to open up mining on the seabed.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 5, 2023

They had no official uniforms, but wore helmets of various kinds from army surplus stores, motorcycle shops and hard-hat construction sites, each bearing a small silver decal with “Sheriff’s posse” spelled out in black letters.

From "Because They Marched" by Russell Freedman

Related Words

• helmet