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Luddites

Cultural

Opponents of the introduction of labor-saving machinery. The original Luddites, followers of a legendary Ned Ludd, were British laborers of the early nineteenth century who smashed textile-making machines that threatened their jobs.

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Contemporary opponents of technological change are sometimes called “Luddites.”

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.

In 1812 Luddites took hammers to knitting machines for fear of jobs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 22, 2026

Doctors didn’t grow hostile toward EHRs because they were Luddites; they were simply frustrated with tools that demanded too much and offered too little in return.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 8, 2026

Call me a Luddite, but I’ll take it as a compliment—after all, Luddites started the original rebellion against Big Tech.

From Slate • Dec. 26, 2023

Just like the Luddites did to the power looms.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 7, 2023

He distinguished himself by his eloquent defence of the Luddites; but his most brilliant appearance was as one of the counsel for Queen Caroline.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 2 "Demijohn" to "Destructor" by Various

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023