guest worker

noun

: a foreign laborer working temporarily in an industrialized usually European country

Examples of guest worker in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The Spanish word bracero roughly translates to someone who works with their arms, but the earlier guest worker program didn’t have the same inclusive meaning Chandler intends. Doug Sackman, The Conversation, 21 Aug. 2025 For years, the agricultural sector has been pleading for a strong and efficient guest worker program. Dallas Morning News, Twin Cities, 23 July 2025 In 2020, guest workers accounted for just 10% of the farm labor workforce, but their numbers are skyrocketing, especially in southeastern states and on the West Coast. Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 16 June 2025 The hope, Morrison said, was to encourage employers to bring in skilled workers via the permanent residency pathway, on the theory that immigrants with green cards would, by being on stronger footing, be less likely to undercut wages for Americans than guest workers did. Alec MacGillis, ProPublica, 3 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for guest worker

Word History

Etymology

translation of German Gastarbeiter

First Known Use

1960, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of guest worker was in 1960

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Cite this Entry

“Guest worker.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/guest%20worker. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

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