worker

American  

[wur-ker] / ˈwɜr kər /

noun

1. a person or thing that works.

2. a laborer or employee.

   steel workers.

3. a person engaged in a particular field, activity, or cause.

   a worker in psychological research; a worker for the Republican Party.

4. Entomology.

   1. a member of a caste of sexually underdeveloped, nonreproductive bees, specialized to collect food and maintain the hive.

   2. a similar member of a specialized caste of ants, termites, or wasps.

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

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

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worker British  

/ ˈwɜːkə /

noun

1. a person or thing that works, usually at a specific job

   a good worker

   a research worker

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

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

4. any other member of the working class

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

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Other Word Forms

• nonworker
  noun
• subworker
  noun
• workerless
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of worker

First recorded in 1300–50, worker is from the Middle English word werker, worcher. See work, -er ¹

Example Sentences

Runaway profits and sky-high valuations for microchip companies have fuelled worker demands over pay packages in South Korea, raising the question: who profits from the artificial intelligence boom?

From Barron's • May 28, 2026

One former worker says she felt cast members were "manipulated", even by the standards of reality TV.

From BBC • May 27, 2026

A cheaper robot worker would not solve all of those problems, but it fits neatly into Beijing’s broader answer: to make factories more automated, more productive and harder to displace.

From MarketWatch • May 27, 2026

Larson, a pediatric ICU nurse from Florida, brings her husband, a remote worker, on trips.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026

“Tell me who’s the lady in the picture!” he demanded, feeling entitled to the information because the social worker had made him think about such unpleasant things when the conversation had started out so good.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

Related Words

• employee
• laborer
• staff