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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.

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
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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.

Etymology

Origin of white-collar

First recorded in 1920–25

Compare meaning

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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.

“Both white-collar and blue-collar job growth is stagnant.”

From MarketWatch • Apr. 23, 2026

ChatGPT arrived in 2022, and the AI alarmists said white-collar workers were in danger.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026

Among white-collar workers in tech and elsewhere, the angst is spreading.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

A.I. use at work has nearly doubled in the past few years, especially in white-collar industries.

From Slate • Apr. 9, 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

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.