Luddite

American  

[luhd-ahyt] / ˈlʌd aɪt /

noun

1. a member of any of various bands of workers in England (1811–16) organized to destroy manufacturing machinery, under the belief that its use diminished employment.

2. someone who is opposed or resistant to new technologies or technological change.

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Luddite British  

/ ˈlʌdaɪt /

noun

1. any of the textile workers opposed to mechanization who rioted and organized machine-breaking between 1811 and 1816

2. any opponent of industrial change or innovation

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Luddites

Other Word Forms

• Luddism noun
• Ludditism noun

Etymology

Origin of Luddite

First recorded in 1805–15; supposedly after Ned Ludd, 18th-century Leicestershire worker who in a fit of rage destroyed mechanical knitting machines; -ite ¹

Example Sentences

The Luddite movement, which predated the Swing Riots, was led by textile workers convinced that power-operated looms would permanently impoverish the middle class.

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

The Luddite Club, a nonprofit group that supports taking smartphone breaks, has 26 chapters, nearly all of them at high schools or colleges.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 6, 2025

My father is an avowed Luddite and still sends me newspaper clippings attached to handwritten notes through the mail.

From Slate • Aug. 19, 2025

My 25-year-old works in tech and I am referred to as the Luddite, but here are a few things I would love to see:

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 27, 2023

Here and there a Luddite holdout refuses to open an email account, just as thousands of years ago some human bands refused to take up farming and so escaped the luxury trap.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

Related Words

• neophobe
• technophobe