gig worker

noun

plural gig workers

: a person who works temporary jobs typically in the service sector as an independent contractor or freelancer : a worker in the gig economy

Gig workers have freedoms that most full-timers only dream of: setting their own hours, working from home, being their own bosses. No wonder the gig economy comprised 16 percent of all workers by 2015, according to research by economists Lawrence Katz and Alan Krueger.

—Andy Sullivan

In addition to having more stable space, the affluent often have greater latitude to remain inside it. They can work on Zoom, shop on Amazon and have gig workers deliver meals.

—Jason DeParle

Examples of gig worker in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

YouTube is already an existing customer of PayPal’s and uses the fintech giant’s payouts service, which helps large enterprises pay gig workers and contractors. —Ben Weiss, Fortune, 12 Dec. 2025

Fewer gig workers — and even full-time employees — have a traditional pension and are increasingly responsible for funding their own retirement plans. —Jessica Dickler, CNBC, 11 Dec. 2025

For example, Form 1099-K, which is issued to gig workers, does not separately identify the tips. —Susan Tompor, USA Today, 4 Dec. 2025

That leaves the unemployed, gig workers, and those on Medicaid or in small businesses largely unprotected. —Madison Chapman, Time, 30 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

2009, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gig worker

• caseworker
• coworker
• farmworker
• woodworker