hard hat

noun \ usually -ˈhat for sense 1 and , -ˌhat for senses 1b and 2 \

Updated on: 15 Apr 2018

Definition of hard hat

1 a : a protective hat made of rigid material (such as metal or fiberglass) and worn especially by construction workers

b : a construction worker

2 : a conservative who is intolerant of opposing views

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Recent Examples of hard hat from the Web

The rubbish includes toy soldiers, dominos, toothbrushes and hard hats, along with the ubiquitous bags and bottles.

— don sweeney, sacbee, "A sperm whale died from eating 64 pounds of plastic litter, marine experts say | The Sacramento Bee," 9 Apr. 2018
Beneath downtown Phoenix, an underground air-conditioning network About two dozen feet beneath the Phoenix Convention Center is a small office, staffed around the clock and outfitted with computer monitors, hard hats and safety goggles.

— joshua bowling, azcentral, "LA installs off-white streets to beat heat — could Phoenix be next?," 30 Mar. 2018
The disparities play out in daily indignities, both personal and professional: dismissive comments, advice ignored, emails routed to male colleagues, assignments to plan the office party rather than put on a hard hat and tromp out to the site.

— justin davidson, The Cut, "What Would a World Designed by Women Look Like?," 20 Mar. 2018
Just a kid from Chicago who started with nothing and continues to show up to work with his hard hat each day.

— david murphy, Philly.com, "Robert Covington is a shooter, so he never had doubt | David Murphy," 17 Mar. 2018
For Thunderbird’s rage cage, customers will be outfitted in hard hats, protective goggles, gloves, and coveralls.

— bethany ao, Philly.com, "Want to smash stuff up for fun? You can at Thunderbird Salvage," 28 Mar. 2018
Surveillance footage shows the man wearing a hard hat and orange work vest over a navy coverall jumpsuit, a gray hoodie, and Timberland-style work boots.

— alana levene, BostonGlobe.com, "Police ask public to help ID man linked to Roslindale robbery and assault," 25 Mar. 2018
Calling on hard hats to beat up gun-protesting high-schoolers?

— ben joravsky, Chicago Reader, "Our antiweed governor better take note: downstate is also going to pot," 16 Mar. 2018
In one image from 2016, the men are wearing hard hats on the construction site of Atlético Madrid’s new stadium.

— tariq panja, New York Times, "International Soccer’s Man of Mystery," 9 Mar. 2018

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

First Known Use of hard hat

15th century

HARD HAT Defined for English Language Learners

hard hat

noun

Definition of hard hat for English Language Learners

: a hat that is worn by workers at a building site to protect their heads from falling objects

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Definition of hard hat

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