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

Very Large Crude Carriers — the workhorses of Saudi Arabia’s export fleet — are too big to sail through fully laden. — Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 29 July 2026

Best laser printers This economical Wi-Fi printer is a small and lightweight workhorse that can print up to 36 pages per minute. — Bestreviews, Mercury News, 28 July 2026

Right on the money… Vikram-1 is modest in size compared to India’s larger workhorse rockets. — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 24 July 2026

Sadly, the science of monetary policy and other workhorses of monetary policy (The Phillips Curve), economic forecasting even appear to be unhelpful in Warsh's first principled approach. — Steve Liesman, CNBC, 22 July 2026

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
• racehorse
• remorse
• seahorse
• workforce

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