white-collar

adjective

white-col·​lar ˈ(h)wīt-ˈkä-lər 

: of, relating to, or constituting the class of salaried employees whose duties do not call for the wearing of work clothes or protective clothing compare blue-collar

Examples of white-collar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Coverage of the labor market in 2025 has taken on a decidedly white-collar tone, with artificial intelligence being cast as the principal long-term threat to the American workforce. —Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Dec. 2025

Newsrooms, particularly those with the presses attached, are a hybrid space, white-collar and blue-collar at once. —Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 29 Nov. 2025

With the white-collar job market frozen, and millions of Gen Zers classified as NEETs—not in education, training, or employment—seasonal gigs could be the unexpected back door into longer-term work. —Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 28 Nov. 2025

Two others had come to the industry after white-collar jobs in health care. —Lauren Hilgers, Harpers Magazine, 23 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1911, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for white-collar

• eurodollar
• caller
• collar
• crawler
• dollar
• faller
• haller
• hauler
• holler
• scholar
• smaller
• squalor

Kids Definition

white-collar

adjective

ˈhwīt-ˈkäl-ər, 

ˈwīt-

: of, relating to, or being a member of the class of workers (as clerks and salespersons) whose duties do not require the wearing of work clothes