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

Citrini predicted those companies would be hit first before widespread white-collar job losses.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026

The prison holds a mix of inmates including those convicted of violent as well as white-collar offenses such as corruption.

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

Anecdotally, Anna says more women are joining her platform after leaving white-collar jobs, adding three Oxford University-educated tradeswomen have signed up in the last month.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

The end result is that victims of crime – and taxpayers, who have to pay for these huge white-collar investigations and trials – are often left with nothing.

From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026

She has hopes for him: graduation from high school, a white-collar job, maybe as an engineer.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

Related Words

• clerical
• salaried