skilled labor
Americannoun
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labor that requires special training for its satisfactory performance.
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the workers employed in such labor.
Etymology
Origin of skilled labor
First recorded in 1770–80
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.
Flush with profits and buoyed by steadily rising sales, businesses have little need to cut jobs, especially when the supply of skilled labor is so low.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 2026
The Federal Reserve’s latest survey of businesses observed that while demand for workers has softened, “firms reported continued challenges finding skilled labor, particularly in engineering, health care, and other trades.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 8, 2026
Massive data-center and chip-factory projects expose severe shortfalls in skilled labor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 8, 2026
That’s as those companies face bottlenecks from lack of contractors, skilled labor, equipment and transmission to deliver power to compute, he said.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 29, 2025
One advantage of concrete work is that it does not require any great proportion of skilled labor, the crushing, mixing, and placing all being done by machinery.
From The City of Numbered Days by Lynde, Francis
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.
