workforce

noun

work·​force ˈwərk-ˌfȯrs 

1

: the workers engaged in a specific activity or enterprise

the factory's workforce

2

: the number of workers potentially assignable for any purpose

the nation's workforce

Synonyms of workforce

• staff
• manpower
• personnel
• pool

Examples of workforce in a Sentence

We have a workforce of 2,400 people.

the office's entire workforce is devoted to a single project right now

Recent Examples on the Web

Bosch also highlighted the scale of its AI capability, noting over 2,000 AI patents filed and more than 100,000 employees trained in AI, which accounts for nearly a quarter of its global workforce. —Paul Ratner, Interesting Engineering, 5 Jan. 2026

One former law enforcement official described the scale as extraordinary, noting that the number of HSI agents being sent to Minneapolis is roughly equivalent to the entire HSI workforce assigned to the state of Arizona. —Nicole Sganga, CBS News, 5 Jan. 2026

Seventy million dollars was allocated to the governor’s workforce strategies. —Andrew Brown, Hartford Courant, 5 Jan. 2026

Chevron also announced plans to lay off up to 20% of its workforce by 2026. —Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 5 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1866, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for workforce

• concourse
• divorce
• endorse
• enforce
• indorse
• midcourse
• outsource
• perforce
• racecourse
• racehorse
• remorse
• seahorse

Kids Definition

workforce

noun

work·​force ˈwərk-ˌfō(ə)rs 

-ˌfȯ(ə)rs

: the workers of a specific activity or business

the factory's workforce