workhorse

noun

work·​horse ˈwərk-ˌhȯrs 

1

: a horse used chiefly for labor as distinguished from driving, riding, or racing

2

a(1)

: a person who performs most of the work of a group task

(2)

: a hardworking person

b

: something that is markedly useful, durable, or dependable

c

: horse sense 7

Examples of workhorse in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While Saquon Barkley was the workhorse at the RB position, Will Shipley and AJ Dillon each had three carries, so adding to the RB room makes sense for the Eagles. —Matt Wadleigh, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Sep. 2025

The rookie is not expected to get a lot of touches; Kyren Williams is still the workhorse in this offense, after all. —Adam Grosbard, Oc Register, 7 Sep. 2025

Yet silicon, the workhorse of the industry, is close to its physical efficiency limit. —Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 4 Sep. 2025

All of these laptops are worthy multitaskers and media-editing workhorses. —Matthew Buzzi, PC Magazine, 3 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for workhorse

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

Kids Definition

workhorse

noun

work·​horse ˈwərk-ˌhȯ(ə)rs 

1

: a horse used for hard work (as on a farm)

2

a

: a person who does most of the work of a group task

b

: something that is useful, durable, or dependable