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 one problem is the lingering perception that blue-collar work isn’t as elite or prestigious as white-collar work. —Sydney Lake, Fortune, 21 Apr. 2026

Is that simply because Beebo is something of a blue-collar folk hero? —Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 21 Apr. 2026

Linda is a ball of nervous energy, a blue-collar divorcée, and a woman striving to turn her dysfunctional children into a model family for their New Jersey town. —Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2026

Harley-Davidson has a rugged blue-collar individual image, and that's an image that reflects the city of Milwaukee. —Dana Taylor, USA Today, 16 Apr. 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