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.
Many of the price complaints in business surveys are classic supply constraints: tariffs; Persian Gulf energy volatility; construction materials; tight skilled labor and AI-driven bottlenecks.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 6, 2026
Some tech leaders attribute the drop in industry employment mostly to overhiring following the pandemic, when skilled labor was hard to obtain and retain.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 1, 2026
Massive data-center and chip-factory projects expose severe shortfalls in skilled labor.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 8, 2026
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
There is the same difference between simple brute strength and skilled labor that there is between noise and the symphonies of Beethoven.
From The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 8 (of 12) Dresden Edition?Political by Ingersoll, Robert Green
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.
