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shop steward

American

noun

a unionized employee elected to represent a shop, department, or the like, in dealings with an employer.

shop steward British

noun

a coworker elected by trade union members to represent them in discussions and negotiations with the management

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of shop steward

First recorded in 1910–15

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.

Escobar became a shop steward but didn’t think of getting more involved in labor leadership until the early 2000s, when drivers twice crashed into his idling fire truck.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2025

The reader should know that my grandfather was a shop steward on the heavily unionized railroads of the early 20th century.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 30, 2023

A trade union shop steward in Glasgow's shipyards before he moved into football, Ferguson's final team talk concentrated on working-class values.

From BBC • May 7, 2023

Ms. Byars leads shop steward trainings and said 12 workers had completed the program so far.

From New York Times • Mar. 21, 2023

Torkleson was waiting to see the shop steward when he came in next morning.

From Meeting of the Board by Nourse, Alan Edward

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023