workhorse

[wurk-hawrs]

See more synonyms for workhorse on Thesaurus.com

noun

a horse used for plowing, hauling, and other heavy labor, as distinguished from a riding horse, racehorse, etc.
a person who works tirelessly at a task, assumes extra duties, etc.

Origin of workhorse

First recorded in 1535–45; work + horse

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for workhorse

laborer, servant, worker, serf, captive, victim, drudge, chattel, help, toiler, vassal, thrall, retainer, peon, menial, workhorse, skivvy, slave, doer, pistol

Examples from the Web for workhorse

Contemporary Examples of workhorse

Through all of this, however, Howe was, as he always is, the workhorse of the Red Wings.
Gordie Howe Hockey’s Greatest War Horse
W.C. Heinz
May 31, 2014
As a lawmaker, she has always been more of a show pony than a workhorse.
Michele Bachmann’s Crazy War on Women’s History
Michelle Cottle
May 8, 2014
The 737 is a world-wide daily workhorse on domestic routes, sometimes making as many as seven flights a day.
The Baseless Rush to Blame the Pilots of Flight 370
Clive Irving
March 16, 2014
Sedgwick often turns to the word “workhorse” to describe herself.
‘The Closer’ Comes to a Close
Tricia Romano
July 11, 2011
House Minority Leader John Boehner has also been a workhorse, raising more than $44 million for GOP candidates and committees.
Who Built the GOP Comeback?
Howard Kurtz
October 26, 2010

Historical Examples of workhorse

The Holter, that workhorse of the water, plodded stolidly on its appointed way.
The Spell of the White Sturgeon
James Arthur Kjelgaard

British Dictionary definitions for workhorse

workhorse

noun

a horse used for nonrecreational activities
informal a person who takes on the greatest amount of work in a project or job

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

Word Origin and History for workhorse

1540s, from work (n.) + horse (n.). Figurative use by 1949.