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

Unlike some cartel leaders who inherited leadership positions from family dynasties, his parents were farm workers who carved out a living in Aguililla, a city of fewer than 20,000 people in Michoacán, known as the world's avocado capital. —N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 22 Feb. 2026

As of 2024, half of the state’s workers were eligible for remote work, and 74% of those workers preferred telework, according to the Department of General Services’ estimate at the time. —Yue Stella Yu feb. 22, Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2026

Romaine said the ban does not apply to plow operators and other essential workers. —February 22, CBS News, 22 Feb. 2026

Its door matches the wall treatment so well that a worker in the bathroom once had to ask where the toilet was. —James Alexander, Hartford Courant, 22 Feb. 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