working papers
Americanplural noun
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legal papers often required for employment, as by an immigrant worker or temporary employee.
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legal papers enabling a minor in the United States to work under certain conditions.
plural noun
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papers or notes showing the intermediate stages of a proposal, solution, etc, arrived at or being worked on
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legal documents that certain people in some countries must possess to be allowed to work
Etymology
Origin of working papers
First recorded in 1925–30
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Two new working papers circulated by the authoritative National Bureau of Economic Research show the double squeeze the U.S. dollar and the Treasury market are facing both overseas and at home.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
He has encouraged all of the Haitian workers at his restaurants to obtain legal working papers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
The seven band members were arrested last Thursday after playing a concert on the southern resort island of Phuket, reportedly for not having proper working papers.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 30, 2024
Circé Lienart, who runs Maison des Coursiers, a city-funded resource center for delivery workers, in Paris’ Barbès neighborhood, estimates that 2 in 3 delivery couriers do not have French working papers.
From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2023
The result was that the animals, like us, got their working papers.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
