worker
gb/wˈɚkɚ/ us/wˈɚkɚ/
A2
English
~ 600
Senses
0 senses
Noun
A2
entity
1
Person employed to do work
A person who has a job and does work for money.
Usage pattern:
[someone] is a worker at [a place]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'worker' with 'workman'; 'workman' is less common and often refers specifically to manual laborers.
Synonyms
employee (More formal and often used in legal or business contexts to mean someone who works for an employer.)
|
staff member (Refers to someone as part of a group working in an organization; slightly more collective.)
Antonyms
employer (The person or organization that hires and pays workers, opposite role.)
Collocations
factory worker
|office worker
|skilled worker
|migrant worker
|construction worker
Themes
business
|employment
|daily life
|work
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The factory employs over 200 workers.
- As a construction worker, he starts his day at sunrise.
- The company is hiring more workers for the holiday season.
- Many workers are demanding better pay and conditions.
Learner examples
- My sister is a worker in a shop.
- The workers make clothes in the factory.
- He is a worker at the hotel.
Noun
A2
entity
2
Person characterized by work style
A person described by how they do their job, like fast, careful, or lazy.
Usage pattern:
[someone] is a [adjective] worker
Common mistake:
Learners may forget to use an adjective before 'worker' when describing someone's work style.
Synonyms
performer (In this context, refers to someone who performs tasks well, but can also mean an entertainer.)
Antonyms
slacker (Informal term for someone who avoids work or works very little.)
Collocations
hard worker
|fast worker
|good worker
Themes
employment
|daily life
|work
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- She is known as a hard worker who always meets deadlines.
- He's not just talented; he's also a careful worker.
- The manager praised her as a reliable worker.
Learner examples
- He is a good worker.
- She is a slow worker.
- My father is a hard worker.
Noun
technical
B1
entity
3
Non-reproducing insect in colony
An insect like an ant or bee that cannot have young and works for the group.
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse 'worker bee' with any bee; not all bees are workers.
Synonyms
laborer bee (Less common term referring specifically to bees that work in the hive.)
Antonyms
queen bee (The reproductive female in a bee colony, opposite role to the worker bee.)
Collocations
worker bee
|worker ant
Themes
biology
|animals
|nature
Examples
- Worker bees collect nectar from flowers.
- In an ant colony, the workers care for the larvae.
- The hive depends on its worker bees to survive.
Learner examples
- A worker bee makes honey.
- Worker ants bring food to the nest.
- The queen bee is bigger than the worker bees.
Grammar
Dictionary form
worker
IPA
GB/wˈɚkɚ/
US/wˈɚkɚ/
Syllables & stress
work - er (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (work)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: worker
- Plural: workers
Word family
Forms
workers
noun
Core family
work
verb A1
working
adjective
Advanced or less common
workable
adjective
workmanship
noun B2
Negative and opposite forms
unworkable
adjective
Expressions
hard worker
1/hˈɑɹd wˈɚkɚ/
fixed phrase
Person who works diligently
A person who works very well and tries very hard.
Examples
- She’s a hard worker and always finishes her projects early.
- Everyone knows he’s a hard worker who never gives up.
blue-collar worker
1/blˈu kˈɑlɚ wˈɚkɚ/
fixed phrase
person doing manual or industrial work
An employee who mainly does physical or manual work, for example in a factory or on a building site.
Examples
- The new law will improve conditions for blue-collar workers.
- Blue-collar workers often face higher safety risks on the job.
- He spent most of his life as a blue-collar worker in the steel industry.
- The union represents thousands of blue-collar workers in the region.
- Her father was a blue-collar worker in the steel industry.
white-collar worker
1/wˈaɪt kˈɑlɚ wˈɚkɚ/
fixed phrase
person doing office or professional work
An employee who mainly does office or professional work, not physical labor.
Examples
- White-collar workers often have flexible schedules.
- As a white-collar worker, she spends most of her day at a computer.
- She transitioned from being a blue-collar worker to a white-collar worker after finishing college.
- The company offers flexible hours for its white-collar workers.
- Salaries for white-collar workers have risen faster than for manual workers.