laborer
Americannoun
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a person engaged in work that requires bodily strength rather than skill or training.
a laborer in the field.
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any worker.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of laborer
Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325; see origin at labor, -er 1
Explanation
A laborer is a worker, especially a person who does some kind of physical work. A stone mason is a laborer, but you probably wouldn't call a poet a laborer. In the old days, the word laborer implied an unskilled or menial worker, like a day laborer on a farm who might be hired at an hourly rate to haul rocks out of a field, or a street paver's assistant. Today, a laborer is thought of as someone who works with her hands, often outside. Laborer comes from labor, in Old French "work, exertion, or task," from the Latin laborem, "toil, exertion, or fatigue."
Vocabulary lists containing laborer
The Industrial Revolution - Introductory
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The Industrial Revolution - Middle School and High School
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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.
Caleb Soto, attorney for the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, who represents many detainees, said he has watched people deteriorate week by week when he visits them.
From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026
“We welcome this swift and much-needed relief for Isaac, which is a testament to the blatant illegality of the government’s actions,” said Lauren Wilfong, a lawyer with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026
Days after her husband’s arrest, Alrashid and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network rallied outside B-18 to shed light on Othmane’s case.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 11, 2025
Adopt a Day Labor Corner — The National Day Laborer Organizing Network is building a network of volunteers who regularly show up to a location where day laborers gather.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 13, 2025
The Condition of the Laborer; of the well to do.%—Men worked harder and for less money then than now.
From A School History of the United States by McMaster, John Bach
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.
