navvy
noun
an unskilled manual laborer.
navvies
-
pluralof navvy.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
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.
They helped build the C&O Canal and worked as navvies, or laborers, in its port.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 4, 2020
The scale of the work can be judged by the group of navvies gathered in the bottom right of the picture.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2018
To build the Paris-Rouen-Le Havre line in 1841-7, they “imported” not only an engineer, but also thousands of British navvies, miners, bricklayers and mechanics.
From Time ● Oct. 26, 2016
And Dan gave us a great segment about the thousands of navvies who worked like beasts and lived in mud huts.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 19, 2013
He still felt shocked and ill—the same sensation which he had once experienced on seeing two navvies fighting outside a music hall.
From Mortmain by Arthur Cheny Train
