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

Both are children of Mexican immigrants who grew up in blue-collar neighborhoods — Flores in South L.A., Macias in Huntington Park. —Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2025

Nevertheless, blue-collar jobs will eventually be affected. —Alan Stafford, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025

Lillard said real pressure is being a single mom raising kids, or having a blue-collar job. —Jason Quick, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025

Trump will address supporters Tuesday in Macomb County, Mich., an area north of Detroit that is a quintessential redoubt of culturally conservative blue-collar voters. —Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 27 Apr. 2025

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