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
It’s harder to find skilled labor and there is now a lengthy wait list for equipment, said Deysel, a geophysicist and mining engineer who has previously worked at various mines across Africa.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 27, 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
Only a handful of emerging economies combine digital capability, a skilled labor force, and a meaningful export base in tech.
From Barron's ● Dec. 22, 2025
And how did he go about building a house in this wilderness, so far from any place where skilled labor, tools and bricks, glass and nails could be obtained?
From The Stronghold A Story of Historic Northern Neck of Virginia and Its People by Miriam Haynie
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.
