white-collar

American  

[hwahyt-kol-er, wahyt-] / ˈʰwaɪtˈkɒl ər, ˈwaɪt- /

adjective

1. belonging or pertaining to the ranks of office and professional workers whose jobs generally do not involve manual labor or the wearing of a uniform or work clothes.

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noun

1. a white-collar worker.

white-collar British  

adjective

1. of, relating to, or designating nonmanual and usually salaried workers employed in professional and clerical occupations Compare blue-collar pink-collar

   white-collar union

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white-collar Cultural  

1. A descriptive term for office workers, who use a minimum of physical exertion, as opposed to blue-collar laborers. Managerial, clerical, and sales jobs are common white-collar occupations.

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Etymology

Origin of white-collar

First recorded in 1920–25

Compare meaning

How does white-collar compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• blue-collar vs. white-collar

Example Sentences

Hsu is also facing a white collar crime enhancement alleging tax losses of more than $500,000, according to the complaint.

From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026

They tend to have jobs that are white collar but not flashy—think accountants, not tech founders.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026

The UCU union - which represents many lecturers as well as some other white collar university staff - has said it will fight any compulsory redundancies.

From BBC • Jan. 19, 2026

His research suggests that enterprise AI adoption is accelerating—not just in terms of customer service chatbots and coding, but agentic AI being applied to white collar labor tasks.

From Barron's • Dec. 9, 2025

She’s wearing a black graduation gown with a white collar sticking out, and her hair is in a tight bun with powder on it to make it gray.

From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan

Related Words

• clerical
• salaried