workhorse

noun

work·​horse ˈwərk-ˌhȯrs How to pronounce workhorse (audio)
1
: a horse used chiefly for labor as distinguished from driving, riding, or racing
2
a(1)
: a person who performs most of the work of a group task
(2)
: a hardworking person
b
: something that is markedly useful, durable, or dependable

Examples of workhorse in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Maybe no Chiefs player benefited from the late-season layoff more than Kareem Hunt, who had been the team’s workhorse while Pacheco was recovering from injuries. Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 27 Jan. 2025 In fact, Tuesday's success brought the number of its orbital-class rocket landings to an even 400, the company announced via X. The vast majority of those touchdowns have been achieved by the Falcon 9, SpaceX's workhorse rocket. Mike Wall, Space.com, 23 Jan. 2025 But Musk also got a powerful boost from Pentagon launch contracts and NASA–the latter in 2006 gave the company $278 million to develop a more powerful rocket, the Falcon 9, that has become the company’s workhorse. Jeremy Bogaisky, Forbes, 18 Jan. 2025 The shortest span between two flights of ULA's expendable workhorse rocket, the Atlas V, from different pads was six days in 2015. Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 14 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for workhorse 

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of workhorse was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near workhorse

Cite this Entry

“Workhorse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/workhorse. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.

Kids Definition

workhorse

noun
work·​horse ˈwərk-ˌhȯ(ə)rs How to pronounce workhorse (audio)
1
: a horse used for hard work (as on a farm)
2
a
: a person who does most of the work of a group task
b
: something that is useful, durable, or dependable

More from Merriam-Webster on workhorse

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