worker

noun

work·​er ˈwər-kər 

1

a

: one that works especially at manual or industrial labor or with a particular material

a factory worker

—often used in combination

b

: a member of the working class

2

: any of the sexually underdeveloped and usually sterile members of a colony of social ants, bees, wasps, or termites that perform most of the labor and protective duties of the colony

Synonyms

• dogsbody [chiefly British]
• drone
• drudge
• drudger
• foot soldier
• grub
• grubber
• grunt
• laborer
• peon
• plugger
• slave
• slogger
• toiler

Examples of worker in a Sentence

The company is planning to hire 200 workers.

The average worker earned $1,000 more this year.

If management doesn't make the changes, the workers will go on strike.

They are both hard workers.

Recent Examples on the Web

Tia Carrere, who voiced Nani in the original, appears in the new film as the social worker Mrs. Kekoa. —Ralphie Aversa, USA Today, 23 May 2025

This creates a closed-loop system where value flows back to both the worker and the business. —Carlos Netto, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025

Airport workers and union supporters attended a Charlotte City Council meeting April 28 and asked for approval of the ordinance. —Chase Jordan, Charlotte Observer, 22 May 2025

To do so, the company raised prices by double-digit percentages for eight straight quarters, passing costs—and then some—directly to consumers and laying off hundreds of workers. —Lindsay Owens, Time, 22 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing worker

• care worker
• co-worker
• day worker
• gig worker
• guest worker
• sex worker
• voluntary worker
• wonder-worker
• worker-priest

Rhymes for worker

• caseworker
• coworker
• farmworker
• woodworker

Kids Definition

worker

noun

work·​er ˈwər-kər 

1

a

: one that works

b

: a member of the working class

2

: one of the members of a colony of social ants, bees, wasps, or termites that are only partially developed sexually and that perform most of the labor and protective duties of the colony