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

Even graduates are struggling: a 2026 Azim Premji University study found fewer than 7% of jobseekers secured permanent salaried work within a year, and fewer than 4% landed white-collar jobs.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

That points to another conundrum for the health-conscious white-collar urban workforce: Greens are everywhere and in everything.

From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026

The lawsuit also touches on a bigger question that has consumed white-collar employees for years: How exactly do companies choose who to include in a layoff?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 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

It’s a weird mix, everything from white-collar criminals to guys picked up on traffic stops to real, hardcore criminals covered with prison tattoos.

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

Related Words

• clerical
• salaried