worker

[ wur-ker ]

/ ˈwɜr kər /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: worker / workers on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person or thing that works.

a laborer or employee: steel workers.

a person engaged in a particular field, activity, or cause: a worker in psychological research; a worker for the Republican Party.

Entomology.

a member of a caste of sexually underdeveloped, nonreproductive bees, specialized to collect food and maintain the hive.
a similar member of a specialized caste of ants, termites, or wasps.

Printing. one of a set of electrotyped plates used to print from (contrasted with molder²).

any of several rollers covered with card clothing that work in combination with the stripper rollers and the cylinder in the carding of fibers.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of worker

First recorded in 1300–50, worker is from the Middle English word werker, worcher. See work, -er¹

OTHER WORDS FROM worker

non·work·er, nounsub·work·er, noun

Words nearby worker

workbox, work camp, workday, worked, worked-up, worker, worker director, worker participation, worker-priest, workers' compensation insurance, workers' cooperative

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use worker in a sentence

The US and the UK have taken different approaches to helping workers through the Covid-19 pandemic.
Despite wildly different approaches, the US and UK are seeing identical declines in hours worked|Dan Kopf|September 17, 2020|Quartz
From Washington to Berlin, officials are scrambling to find the best ways to help workers.
Job markets in the US and Europe are surprisingly similar|Dan Kopf|September 16, 2020|Quartz
The pandemic has made Britain’s economy even more British, as workers born in the EU walk away.
European workers are fleeing the UK economy during the pandemic|John Detrixhe|September 16, 2020|Quartz
That means there are generally enough workers for three to four queens to each lead off a swarm of workers and create new colonies.
Quacks and toots help young honeybee queens avoid deadly duels|Sharon Oosthoek|September 14, 2020|Science News For Students

Unsurprisingly, workers at TransDigm’s companies often feel expendable.
The Big Corporate Rescue and the America That’s Too Small to Save|by Lydia DePillis, Justin Elliott and Paul Kiel|September 12, 2020|ProPublica
Farrell issued a ticket to an 18-year-old shipyard worker for speeding and an improper exhaust mechanism, according to the TP.
The Louisiana Racists Who Courted Steve Scalise|Jason Berry|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He expected European capitalism to evolve spontaneously into a market socialism of worker-owned cooperatives.
American Democracy Under Threat for 250 Years|Jedediah Purdy|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She is incapable of responding to kindness and enquiry, even very gentle flirting on the part of a co-worker.
Grief: The Real Monster in The Babadook|Tim Teeman|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Wolf concurs that the conceit of the show seems to have everyone but the sex worker in mind.
To Catch a Sex Worker: A&E’s Awful, Exploitative Ambush Show|Samantha Allen|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“We thought it must be the children playing some game,” a worker at the school told Reuters.
Taliban: We Slaughtered 100+ Kids Because Their Parents Helped America|Sami Yousafzai|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Each seems satisfied with the way his own branch is getting on: Winter is the quicker worker.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
Not more than one adult worker in ten—so at least it might with confidence be estimated—is employed on necessary things.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
As he was a great worker all his life, “Busy,” or “ Benjamin Ceased” would significantly express his death-date.
Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
A strenuous worker, Mr. Johnstone, like most men who have no hobby, did not long survive his retirement from active business life.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland|Joseph Tatlow
No true worker, be he digger, or divine, blends real work with either smoking or drinking.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.

British Dictionary definitions for worker

worker

/ (ˈwɜːkə) /

noun

a person or thing that works, usually at a specific joba good worker; a research worker

an employee in an organization, as opposed to an employer or manager

a manual labourer or other employee working in a manufacturing or other industry

any other member of the working class

a sterile female member of a colony of bees, ants, or wasps that forages for food, cares for the larvae, etc

Derived forms of worker

workerless, adjective

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

worker

Origin of worker

OTHER WORDS FROM worker

Words nearby worker

Words related to worker

How to use worker in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for worker

Derived forms of worker