worker

noun

work·​er ˈwər-kər 

1

a

: one that works especially at manual or industrial labor or with a particular material

a factory worker

—often used in combination

b

: a member of the working class

2

: any of the sexually underdeveloped and usually sterile members of a colony of social ants, bees, wasps, or termites that perform most of the labor and protective duties of the colony

Synonyms of worker

• laborer
• slave

Examples of worker in a Sentence

The company is planning to hire 200 workers.

The average worker earned $1,000 more this year.

If management doesn't make the changes, the workers will go on strike.

They are both hard workers.

Recent Examples on the Web

Frieden said that, by the time health workers detected this latest outbreak, cases have outnumbered those reported at the start of the 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa, which caused over 28,000 cases and 11,325 deaths over two years. —Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 18 May 2026

More than 47,000 workers could participate in the strike, the union said. —Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 18 May 2026

His parents, who met as students at Central State University, a historically Black college in Ohio, were both social workers. —Jason Zengerle, New Yorker, 18 May 2026

And while the turnaround has been staggering, with Q1 2026 operating profit increasing nearly eightfold to a record, the workers received none of the payout. —Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 17 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing worker

• care worker
• co-worker
• day worker
• gig worker
• guest worker
• sex worker
• voluntary worker
• wonder-worker
• worker-priest

Rhymes for worker

• caseworker
• coworker
• farmworker
• woodworker

Kids Definition

worker

noun

work·​er ˈwər-kər 

1

a

: one that works

b

: a member of the working class

2

: one of the members of a colony of social ants, bees, wasps, or termites that are only partially developed sexually and that perform most of the labor and protective duties of the colony