foreman
noun
a person in charge of a particular department, group of workers, etc., as in a factory or the like.
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foreman
American
[fawr-muhn, fohr-]
/ ˈfɔr mən, ˈfoʊr- /
noun
-
foremen
plural
-
a person in charge of a particular department, group of workers, etc., as in a factory or the like.
-
the member of a jury selected to preside over and speak for all the jurors on the panel.
foreman
1
British
/ ˈfɔːmən /
noun
-
Gender-neutral form: supervisor. a person, often experienced, who supervises other workmen
-
Female equivalent: forewoman. law the principal juror, who presides at the deliberations of a jury
Foreman
2
British
/ ˈfɔːmən /
noun
Gender
See -man.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of foreman
1175–1225; Middle English forman chief servant, steward. See fore-, man
Explanation
On many job sites, the boss or supervisor is called the foreman. If you get a job on a construction crew, the foreman is the person in charge. While the supervisor in an office, hospital, or school has a totally different title, in manual labor it's common to use the word foreman. This is true in factories and plants, as well as on ranches and railroads. Even on a jury there's a foreman, the member who announces the group's verdict. A woman in one of these roles might be called foreman, forewoman, or foreperson. A simpler, gender-neutral compromise is to use "supervisor" instead.
Vocabulary lists containing foreman
Like A Boss: Words for the Person in Charge
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A Night Divided
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"One Last Time," Vocabulary from the memoir
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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.
See Examples For:
The rescued men, both Nepali, were named as Sanjay Sah, 30, a mechanical foreman, as well as Maharjan, 45, a mechanical supervisor, by Home Minister Sudan Gurung.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
Later that day, the crew’s foreman was injured when he touched the line.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
After the jury foreman, when asked “How say you?” answered “Guilty,” 34 times, Trump turned to face the back of the room, looking uncharacteristically stricken.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
Pete Hawkins, aged 17 at the time, was working nearby with the son of foreman Jim Flint.
From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026
The red-faced white man came back with a foreman, and took charge of everything.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
That money never leaves the US, explains Foreman from Basic Fun.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
The Foreign Office said Miliband also used Thursday's meeting to raise the detention of British couple Lindsay and Craig Foreman in Iran.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
Lindsay and Craig Foreman were sentenced to 10 years in jail over espionage charges, which they both deny, and are being held in Evin prison.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Craig and Lindsay Foreman have refused food for nine and eight weeks, respectively, over their prison conditions, the family says.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
Maybe we can follow this one up with dancing and refreshments. 6TH JUROR: Mr. Foreman?
From "Twelve Angry Men" by Reginald Rose
The colonial trade also ravaged the archipelago's forests and wrecked communities, with able-bodied men required to offer 40 days of unpaid service to fell trees and build ships under Spanish foremen.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
The biggest holdup in the fiber boom, he said, is human capital for roles including drillers, foremen, splicers and aerial linemen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 1, 2026
Of course, there is no such thing as a Super Bowl of baking, or an All-Pro team of the country’s logging foremen.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 1, 2023
Besides the Egyptian labourers used to clear the tomb site, Carter also employed skilled Egyptian foremen, including Ahmed Gerigar, Gad Hassan, Hussein Abu Awad and Hussein Ahmed Said.
From BBC ● Nov. 25, 2022
The first to go were the “notables” of the block, the Stubenalteste, the Kapos, the foremen, all of whom were in perfect physical condition, of course!
From "Night" by Elie Wiesel
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.
