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

See Examples For:

white-collar

Federal data suggest white-collar workers are spending the most time on the sidelines, with those in their prime working years particularly affected by long-term unemployment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

Furthermore, it’s too early to sound the “all-clear” on job displacement for white-collar workers due to AI, according to Vaillancourt.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026

He points specifically to efforts that started in the 1990s, when the council was led by Sir Howard Bernstein, to revamp the city centre with the aim of attracting new money and white-collar jobs.

From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026

KORINEK: It almost certainly looks like it will be white-collar work, or what some people call “the laptop professions.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026

They were mostly in for white-collar crimes, money schemes, fraud and racketeering.

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah

Related Words

• clerical
• salaried