worker
Americannoun
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a person or thing that works.
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a laborer or employee.
steel workers.
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a person engaged in a particular field, activity, or cause.
a worker in psychological research; a worker for the Republican Party.
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Entomology.
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a member of a caste of sexually underdeveloped, nonreproductive bees, specialized to collect food and maintain the hive.
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a similar member of a specialized caste of ants, termites, or wasps.
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Printing. one of a set of electrotyped plates used to print from (contrasted with molder).
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any of several rollers covered with card clothing that work in combination with the stripper rollers and the cylinder in the carding of fibers.
noun
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a person or thing that works, usually at a specific job
a good worker
a research worker
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an employee in an organization, as opposed to an employer or manager
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a manual labourer or other employee working in a manufacturing or other industry
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any other member of the working class
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a sterile female member of a colony of bees, ants, or wasps that forages for food, cares for the larvae, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of worker
First recorded in 1300–50, worker is from the Middle English word werker, worcher. See work, -er 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Late Wednesday night, Anunoby added one more item to his list of talents: miracle worker.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
Retirement benefits replace about 36% of preretirement earnings for the medium worker, with greater percentages for lower earners and lower for the higher paid.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 11, 2026
After being caught on the metro, the former bank worker was held for three days in a detention centre without a shower or change of clothes.
From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026
The looming impact of federal Medicaid cuts has reignited a long-simmering, costly battle between California’s medical industry and one of its largest health worker unions.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
A worker on the food crew—a long-term prisoner from the main camp— smiled encouragingly as he ladled out our breakfast.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
