blue-collar

adjective

blue-col·​lar ˈblü-ˈkä-lər 

1

: of, relating to, or constituting the class of wage earners whose duties call for the wearing of work clothes or protective clothing compare white-collar

2

: having characteristics associated with blue-collar workers: such as

a

: having, showing, or appealing to unpretentious or unsophisticated tastes

… a new blue-collar serial … woven around a minor-league baseball team …

—Steven Flax

b

: dependable and hard-working rather than showy or spectacular

a blue-collar athlete

Examples of blue-collar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But there’s been a noticeable uptick in the team’s willingness to hit their blue-collar big man on rolls to the rim, which is opening an underutilized dimension of an offense that stagnated in the weeks leading up to their back-to-back wins over the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers. —Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 27 Jan. 2026

His earlier attacks shored up his appeal with blue-collar voters who had been hurt by international trade and the export of manufacturing jobs overseas. —Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 26 Jan. 2026

On the other hand, non-humanoid robots are here and movin’ to propel forward blue-collar autonomy in industrial, security and construction applications. —Sabbir Rangwala, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026

Pursue vocational training Roxana Mînzatu, EVP for social rights and skills, quality jobs, and preparedness at the European Commission, told CNBC in a conversation at WEF that young people should pursue vocational training in order to secure these blue-collar roles. —Sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 22 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1929, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for blue-collar

• footballer
• installer
• caller
• collar
• crawler
• dollar
• faller
• haller
• hauler
• holler
• scholar
• smaller

Kids Definition

blue-collar

adjective

ˈblü-ˈkäl-ər

: of or relating to the class of workers whose duties require work clothes