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

Since the nineteen-seventies, Dube points out, the only periods in which the earnings of low- and middle-income workers saw notable growth were the late nineteen-nineties and (setting aside the COVID-19 pandemic) the years from 2018 to 2024. —John Cassidy, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026

Yang is in the minority of workers who’ve managed to make a transition. —ABC News, 6 Apr. 2026

In other words, the obvious consequences of artificially boosting worker pay beyond market rates came to pass. —Editorial, Boston Herald, 6 Apr. 2026

Others were approached by contractors looking to house construction workers for the project. —Lexi Salazar, CBS News, 24 Mar. 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