WORKER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does worker mean? 

• WORKER (noun)
  The noun WORKER has 4 senses:

1. a person who works at a specific occupation

2. a member of the working class (not necessarily employed)

3. sterile member of a colony of social insects that forages for food and cares for the larvae

4. a person who acts and gets things done

  Familiarity information: WORKER used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WORKER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A person who works at a specific occupation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Context example:

he is a good worker

Hypernyms ("worker" is a kind of...):

individual; mortal; person; somebody; someone; soul (a human being)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "worker"):

tacker (a worker who fastens things by tacking them (as with tacks or by spotwelding))

seasonal; seasonal worker (a worker who finds employment only in certain seasons)

sprigger; stemmer; stripper (a worker who strips the stems from moistened tobacco leaves and binds the leaves together into books)

stringer (a worker who strings)

stemmer (a worker who makes or applies stems for artificial flowers)

stainer (a worker who stains (wood or fabric))

splitter (a worker who splits fish and removes the backbone)

splicer (a worker who splices ropes together by interweaving strands)

solderer (a worker who joins or mends with solder)

hard worker; slave; striver (someone who works as hard as a slave)

skilled worker; skilled workman; trained worker (a worker who has acquired special skills)

skidder (a worker who uses a skid to move logs)

shoveler; shoveller (a worker who shovels)

shingler (a worker who shingles roofs)

shelver (a worker who puts things (as books) on shelves)

retainer; servant (a person working in the service of another (especially in the household))

sheller (a worker who removes shells (as of peas or oysters))

trade unionist; union member; unionist (a worker who belongs to a trade union)

workmate (a fellow worker)

working girl (a young woman who is employed)

wiper (a worker who wipes)

winder (a worker who winds (e.g., a winch or clock or other mechanism))

washer (someone who washes things for a living)

wallah (usually in combination: person in charge of or employed at a particular thing)

unpaid worker; volunteer (a person who performs voluntary work)

twiner (someone who intertwines (e.g. threads) or forms something by twisting or interlacing)

tapper (a worker who uses a tap to cut screw threads)

topper (a worker who makes or adds the top to something)

topper (a worker who cuts tops off (of trees or vegetables etc.))

tiler (a worker who lays tile)

tier; tier up (a worker who ties something)

thrower; throwster (a person who twists silk or rayon filaments into a thread or yarn)

toiler (one who works strenuously)

temp; temporary; temporary worker (a worker (especially in an office) hired on a temporary basis)

teaser (a worker who teases wool)

charcoal burner (a worker whose job is to make charcoal)

gutter (a worker who guts things (fish or buildings or cars etc.))

free-lance; free lance; freelance; freelancer; independent; self-employed person (a writer or artist who sells services to different employers without a long-term contract with any of them)

employee (a worker who is hired to perform a job)

employable (a person who is qualified and ready to work)

driver (someone who drives animals that pull a vehicle)

cornhusker (a worker who husks corn)

comber (a person who separates and straightens the fibers of cotton or wool)

accumulator; collector; gatherer (a person who is employed to collect payments (as for rent or taxes))

blackleg; rat; scab; strikebreaker (someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike)

carter (someone whose work is driving carts)

boater; boatman; waterman (someone who drives or rides in a boat)

bleacher (a worker who bleaches (cloth or flour etc.))

bill poster; bill sticker; poster (someone who pastes up bills or placards on walls or billboards)

beater (a worker who rouses wild game from under cover for a hunter)

assistant; help; helper; supporter (a person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose)

finisher (a worker who performs the last step in a manufacturing process)

caster (a worker who casts molten metal into finished products)

lamplighter ((when gas was used for streetlights) a person who lights and extinguishes streetlights)

scrubber (a worker who uses a scrub brush to clean a surface (usually a floor or deck))

ragsorter (a worker who sorts rags and old clothing for new uses (as in papermaking))

quarrier; quarryman (a man who works in a quarry)

dragger; puller; tugger (someone who pulls or tugs or drags in an effort to move something)

pruner; trimmer (a worker who thins out and trims trees and shrubs)

processor (someone who processes things (foods or photographs or applicants etc.))

plier; plyer (someone who plies a trade)

planter (a worker who puts or sets seeds or seedlings into the ground)

part-timer (someone who works less than the customary or standard time)

hanger (a worker who hangs something)

melter (a worker who melts substances (metal or wax etc.))

moonlighter (a person who holds a second job (usually after hours))

mopper (a worker who uses a mop to clean a surface)

muzzler (someone who muzzles animals)

nailer (a worker who attaches something by nailing it)

oiler (a worker who oils engines or machinery)

peeler (a worker who peels the skins from fruits and vegetables)

Antonym:

nonworker (a person who does nothing)

Derivation:

work (be employed)

work (exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A member of the working class (not necessarily employed)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

prole; proletarian; worker

Context example:

workers of the world--unite!

Hypernyms ("worker" is a kind of...):

common man; common person; commoner (a person who holds no title)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "worker"):

dogsbody (a worker who has to do all the unpleasant or boring jobs that no one else wants to do)

Holonyms ("worker" is a member of...):

labor; labour; proletariat; working class (a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Sterile member of a colony of social insects that forages for food and cares for the larvae

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("worker" is a kind of...):

insect (small air-breathing arthropod)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "worker"):

worker bee (sterile bee specialized to collect food and maintain the hive)

soldier (a wingless sterile ant or termite having a large head and powerful jaws adapted for defending the colony)

Derivation:

work (exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A person who acts and gets things done

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

actor; doer; worker

Context example:

he's a miracle worker

Hypernyms ("worker" is a kind of...):

individual; mortal; person; somebody; someone; soul (a human being)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "worker"):

demon (someone extremely diligent or skillful)

busy bee; eager beaver; live wire; sharpie; sharpy (an alert and energetic person)

animator; energiser; energizer; vitaliser; vitalizer (someone who imparts energy and vitality and spirit to other people)

ball of fire; go-getter; whiz-kid; whizz-kid (someone whose career progresses rapidly)

man of action; man of deeds (someone inclined to act first and think later)

ball of fire; fireball; human dynamo; powerhouse (a highly energetic and indefatigable person)

Derivation:

work (exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity)

 Context examples 

Benzidine and its metabolic derivatives have been detected in the urine of workers exposed to Benzidine-based dyes.

(CI Direct Black 38, NCI Thesaurus)

It urges countries to assess impacts, share antivenom technology, support research on new medical tools, and educate health workers about how to respond.

(Snakebite resolution set for Health Assembly approval, SciDev.Net)

Other factors beyond the scope of the study, such as family duties, also could play a role in affecting workers' blood pressure, he said.

(High Blood Pressure Liked to Long Hours on Job, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Four studies of workers exposed to o-toluidine reported an excess of bladder cancers. o-Toluidine and o-toluidine hydrochloride are reasonably anticipated to be human carcinogens.

(o-Toluidine, NCI Thesaurus)

Healthcare workers are exposed to many job hazards.

(Occupational Health for Healthcare Providers, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)

Workers’ microbiomes appear to change in a highly predictable fashion, especially with age.

(Species Shifts in the Honey Bee Microbiome Differ with Age and Hive Role, U.S. Department of Agriculture)

Health care workers in such settings currently use a screening method called visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA).

(AI approach outperformed human experts in identifying cervical precancer, National Institutes of Health)

Many pesticides applied to the gardens remain unknown since the labels were removed from the bottles before the pesticides were given to the workers for application.

(Lychee deaths linked to pesticides, not the fruit, SciDev.Net)

The participants, aged 35-74 years, had no history of cancer or cardiovascular disease and were not shift workers, daytime sleepers, or pregnant when the study began.

(Sleeping with artificial light at night associated with weight gain in women, National Institutes of Health)

The child-life worker helps children and their families understand medical issues and gives psychological and emotional support.

(Child-life worker, NCI Dictionary)