white-collar

adjective

white-col·​lar ˈ(h)wīt-ˈkä-lər 

: of, relating to, or constituting the class of salaried employees whose duties do not call for the wearing of work clothes or protective clothing compare blue-collar

Examples of white-collar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The 58-year-old executive’s first white-collar job at Continental Airlines would send her on a journey to executive roles at retail titans like DSW, Kmart, and Pier 1 Imports. —Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 27 June 2025

There has been no noticeable impact on graduates starting out in the job market, and there’s even been growth in white-collar jobs, an analysis published in The Economist shows. —Joe McKendrick, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025

Stein elaborates, drawing a distinction between highly skilled white-collar migrants, people including Alexander Hamilton, Albert Einstein and Elon Musk, and those who would in his view take jobs away from American low-wage workers. —Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, NPR, 23 June 2025

Even without the negative effect of mergers, Chicago is losing well-paying, white-collar jobs provided by the likes of Discover and Northern Trust. —The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 23 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1911, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for white-collar

• eurodollar
• caller
• collar
• crawler
• dollar
• faller
• haller
• hauler
• holler
• scholar
• smaller
• squalor

Kids Definition

white-collar

adjective

ˈhwīt-ˈkäl-ər,

ˈwīt-

: of, relating to, or being a member of the class of workers (as clerks and salespersons) whose duties do not require the wearing of work clothes