laborer
B2Pronunciation
UK
- /lˈeɪbɜːrə/
US
- /ˈleɪbərər/
Description
- worker
- manual worker
- hired hand
- day worker
A laborer is a person who does hard physical work, usually for pay. Picture someone digging, lifting, carrying, building, cleaning a work site, or helping with farm work. The word usually points to hands-on jobs that depend more on strength and effort than on office work or specialized training. A construction helper, field worker, or road crew member may all be called a laborer. The word is common when people want to stress the physical side of the job and the steady effort it takes.
The word "laborer" refers to a person who does physical or manual work, usually for wages. It is a narrower word than "worker" because it usually highlights jobs that involve lifting, digging, carrying, cleaning, building, loading, or other forms of hands-on effort. A laborer may work in construction, farming, road work, warehousing, landscaping, shipping, or other fields where strength and endurance matter.
In many contexts, the word can suggest general physical work rather than a highly specialized trade. For example, a skilled electrician or engineer would usually be called by that job title, while a person doing general site work might be called a laborer. That does not make the work less important. Laborers help build homes, harvest food, repair roads, move goods, and keep many basic parts of daily life running.
The word is also often modified by other words, as in "construction laborer," "farm laborer," or "day laborer." In some settings it can carry a social or historical sense of working-class life, especially when people talk about labor conditions, low wages, or hard living. Even so, its main meaning stays simple: someone whose job centers on physical work.
So when you hear the word "laborer," picture someone on a job site, in a field, or at a loading area, doing the hard practical work that keeps a project moving. The word brings to mind effort, endurance, and work done with the body as much as with the mind.
Examples
- 1
Road work
He worked as a laborer on a road crew during the summer.
- 2
Construction work
The contractor hired three laborers to carry bricks and clear debris.
- 3
Seasonal farm work
Many migrant laborers travel from farm to farm during the harvest season.
Phrase
migrant laborer
a worker who moves to find work, often seasonal work
- 4
Short-term work
She started as a day laborer and later got a permanent job with the company.
Phrase
day laborer
someone hired and paid for short jobs, often one day at a time
- 5
Workplace safety
The report said construction laborers face a higher risk of injury than many office workers.
Forms and spellings
2 forms open this card.
Main spelling
- laborernoun
Forms
- laborerspluralnoun