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
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This plan includes guest worker programs, clear pathways for immigrants and their families who are here seeking to make a better life for their families and who were enticed to come here by the prior federal administration. Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 4 May 2026 Businesses are seeking tens of thousands more guest workers than the federal government has made available, according to Labor Department data. ABC News, 26 Mar. 2026 But even if guest workers arrive before crawfish season ends around June, Lawson says, the damage is done. Stephen Smith, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026 Two representatives in 2025 also tried to create a year-round agricultural guest worker program, for which there is no federal equivalent. Idaho Statesman, 17 Feb. 2026 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 6 May. 2026.

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