sex work

American  

[seks wurk] / ˈsɛks ˌwɜrk /

noun

1. the sex industry or work in this industry, including prostitution, pornography, stripping, or pornographic modeling intended to sexually arouse clients.

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Other Word Forms

• sex worker noun

Etymology

Origin of sex work

First recorded in 1930–35 in the sense “the academic study of sexual behavior,” and in 1980–85 for the current sense

Example Sentences

What’s actually new is that women can go to college and get jobs other than sex work, and at rates that were impossible to imagine a century or so ago.

From Salon • Mar. 20, 2026

"We go out about 10 police officers in plain clothes under a directed surveillance authority," explains Rose Brown, an Avon and Somerset Police sex work liaison officer.

From BBC • May 9, 2025

At The Cupcake Girls, an anti-sex trafficking organization, we have done significant research on how the criminalization and stigma of sex work paves the way for further marginalization.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 27, 2024

The coalition government has presided over legal reforms including around equal pay, abortion, sex work and transgender rights.

From Reuters • Aug. 25, 2023

In this conuco the adults of each sex work one hour in the morning and one in the evening.

From Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Year 1799-1804 — Volume 1 by Ross, Thomasina