Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
dictionary thesaurus view recents

guest worker

noun
Save Word

Definition of guest worker

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

Examples of guest worker in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In Macau, authorities said sales would be restricted to a maximum of 10 face masks to residents or authorized guest workers who can present a valid ID card. — Time, "Virus Panic Causes Face Mask Supplies to Run Out Across Asia," 24 Jan. 2020 The descendants of Turkish guest workers who arrived after World War II still struggle for acceptance. — Katrin Bennhold, New York Times, "Germany Has Been Unified for 30 Years. Its Identity Still Is Not.," 9 Nov. 2019 Many of the guest workers were already scheduled to return in early November, when their temporary visas expired. — Megan Cassidy, SFChronicle.com, "Lost wages, lost homes, uncertainty for migrant vineyard workers after Kincade Fire," 31 Oct. 2019 Millions of guest workers came to the United States from Mexico under a government program that lasted for decades. — Jaqueline Hurtado And Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN, "As Trump touts his border wall, Los Angeles is about to unveil a monument to migrants," 29 Sep. 2019 While never as diverse as West Berlin, with its large Turkish and Arab communities, the East housed a sizable population of guest workers from the Soviet Empire and its allies. — Michelle Hackman And Georgia Wells, WSJ, "The Quirkiest Dining Scene in Berlin? Communist Comfort Food," 28 June 2019 First, Munger passed over U.S. workers for foreign guest workers. — Fortune, "These Women Are the Next Generation’s Leaders," 11 Dec. 2019 Farms can’t bring immigrants in as seasonal guest workers for year-round jobs, such as milking cows, and sponsoring them for a green card is a lengthy process that may cost thousands of dollars. — Maria Perez, jsonline.com, "American farms recruit Mexican veterinarians for jobs as animal scientists — but the real work is milking cows and cleaning pens for low pay," 4 Dec. 2019 The bilateral guest worker agreement between Mexico and the United States lasted from 1942 to 1964. — Jorge Macías, SFChronicle.com, "Time running out for braceros who worked US fields during WWII," 1 Dec. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'guest worker.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

See More

First Known Use of guest worker

1960, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for guest worker

translation of German Gastarbeiter

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about guest worker

Time Traveler for guest worker

Time Traveler

The first known use of guest worker was in 1960

See more words from the same year

Statistics for guest worker

Last Updated

13 Feb 2020

Cite this Entry

“Guest worker.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/guest%20worker. Accessed 19 Feb. 2020.

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for guest worker

guest worker

noun

English Language Learners Definition of guest worker

: a person from one country who lives and works for a time in another country

See the full definition for guest worker in the English Language Learners Dictionary

More from Merriam-Webster on guest worker

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with guest worker

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about guest worker

Comments on guest worker

What made you want to look up guest worker? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

Show Comments  Hide Comments 

WORD OF THE DAY

eradicate

Listen to the pronounciation of eradicate

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Test Your Vocabulary

More Confusing Words—Quiz

  • cats on impossible timber
  • The magician ______ moved the selected card to the top of the deck.
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Citation

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games