NAVVY Synonyms: 40 Similar and Opposite Words

navvy

noun

Definition of navvy

chiefly British

as in laborer

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of navvy Several thousand navvies worked on the railway, living in makeshift camps, and many died in accidents, or from exposure and disease in the bitterly cold winters. — The Week Uk, TheWeek, 3 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for navvy

Noun

Unfortunately, during the early to mid-twentieth century, negative perceptions of immigrant and ethnic laborers led many outsiders to view their neighborhoods as unsafe, unclean, and detrimental to the social fabric of American cities.

— Michelle Oliva-Espinosa, Kansas City Star, 18 July 2026
The El Niño effects, in combination with the high fertilizer costs, will likely reduce opportunities for agricultural work while also increasing the amount that food laborers – among the poorest people – have to spend on produce.

— Peter Hailey, The Conversation, 16 July 2026

Definition of laborer

Noun

Although free labor can help a candidate win, volunteers are also seen as a source of risk, best restricted to such drudge work as phone banking or door knocking.

— Charles Duhigg, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
Workers may be hoping that AI can finally take over their drudge work in the new year—ease their loads and shorten the workweek, or at least make more space for life outside the office.

— Preston Fore, Fortune, 23 Dec. 2025

Definition of drudge

Noun

The day shift also starts making factory-work jokes, with Rekha playing a perky do-bee who just wants to make the boss happy, and Lily adopting an agitator role, demanding workman’s comp and trying to spark revolt.

— Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 16 June 2026
After Napoleon Dynamite, Gries landed a recurring role on Lost as Ben Linus' father, Roger, a DHARMA Initiative workman.

— Danny Horn, Entertainment Weekly, 11 June 2026

Definition of workman

Noun

What was once a workingman’s district is now River North, a polished landscape of galleries, luxury apartments and expense-account dining.

— David Hammond, Chicago Tribune, 8 June 2026
Company founder Leo Fender and his group of California guitar-makers debuted the Telecaster in 1951 as a durable workingman’s guitar.

— Matthew Leimkuehler, Forbes.com, 13 May 2026

Definition of workingman

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navvies

navvy

navy

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Style

“Navvy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/navvy. Accessed 25 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of navvy

noun

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