worker

The word “worker” means a person who performs labor, especially for pay. In plain terms, someone (or, in insects, something) that does labor.

“Worker” is pronounced WUR-kuh (/ˈwɝ.kɚ/ in IPA).

Here is “worker” used in a sentence: “The factory employs over two hundred workers.”

Words with a similar meaning to “worker” include proletarian.

The opposite of “worker” — its antonyms — are boss, chief, director, employer and leader.

“Worker” is a noun.

“Worker” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

“Worker” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a person who performs labor, especially for pay.

Every employee is a worker, but not every worker is an employee. 'Worker' is the broad term for anyone who does labour, including freelancers, contractors, and the self-employed. 'Employee' is narrower, describing someone hired under a contract of employment with a single employer, usually with greater rights and benefits.

Workers can be grouped in many ways: by hours (full-time or part-time), by contract (permanent, temporary, freelance, or agency), and by the nature of the job (manual, skilled, clerical, or professional). Terms like blue-collar and white-collar also distinguish hands-on labour from office-based work.

Almost anyone who performs labour for pay is a worker: a factory operative, a nurse, a builder, a shop assistant, a software developer, or a farmhand. The word applies across every industry and skill level, from entry-level roles to highly trained specialists, wherever effort is exchanged for wages.