white-collar

[hwahyt-kol-er, wahyt-]

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.

noun

1. a white-collar worker.

white-collar

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

white-collar

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of white-collar¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

“Artificial intelligence is going to replace literally half of all white-collar workers in the U.S.,”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Though some federal workers in high-demand occupations have gotten jobs quickly, many others face a crowded market and slow searches in a tough white-collar hiring market.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

To be sure, core AI engineering isn’t a skill most white-collar employees have.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

These smaller city clubs are also marketing to the many white-collar professionals who relocated from larger cities during the pandemic.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Immigrants do a lot of work, both blue-collar and white-collar, that can’t be replaced by technology.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• clerical 
• salaried