worker

[wur-ker]

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 (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.

worker

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• nonworker noun
• subworker noun
• workerless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of worker¹

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

Example Sentences

It looked at where AI could help workers, rather than where AI is being adopted first.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Supplying fresh foods, such as fruits, vegetables and dairy, requires skilled workers on tight timelines to ensure ripeness, freshness and high quality.

Read more on Salon

Meanwhile, one resident told the BBC that some of the alarms had been turned off by construction workers.

Read more on BBC

Journalists in Italy launched strike action Friday over pay and conditions in an ailing media landscape, as workers in education, health and transport also downed tools in protest over the government's budget.

Read more on Barron's

She said it meant health workers "can see that alert and have a look at what that means for us".

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• employee 
• laborer 
• staff