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

Franz said the experience shook him up, explaining that the man held was a farm worker with a wife and children who had been living in southwest Minnesota for about three years. —Dale Morin, Twin Cities, 25 Nov. 2025

My best friend and co-worker is 57. —Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 25 Nov. 2025

The brothers’ enthusiasm for winemaking has confronted the difficulties of luring new workers. —Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 24 Nov. 2025

The project would produce housing for the district’s rank-and-file workers, according to documents posted on the school district’s website. —George Avalos, Mercury News, 24 Nov. 2025

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