blue-collar

adjective

blue-col·​lar ˈblü-ˈkä-lər 

1

: of, relating to, or constituting the class of wage earners whose duties call for the wearing of work clothes or protective clothing compare white-collar

2

: having characteristics associated with blue-collar workers: such as

a

: having, showing, or appealing to unpretentious or unsophisticated tastes

a new blue-collar serial … woven around a minor-league baseball team

—Steven Flax

b

: dependable and hard-working rather than showy or spectacular

a blue-collar athlete

Examples of blue-collar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The pick: Chargers GO DEEPER How Jim Harbaugh built the Chargers culture: Black Eyed Peas, blue-collar gifts, authenticity Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens (-10) | 8 p.m. ET Saturday, Prime Video Man, this spread is ridiculous. —Vic Tafur, The Athletic, 10 Jan. 2025

Dark blue represents our blue-collar attitude and industrial power. —Chicago Tribune, 10 Jan. 2025

Immediately after losing last fall's presidential election, Democrats were shredded by critics inside and outside the party for failing to connect with working-class people, triggering a debate among pundits and strategists over who is to blame and how to win back blue-collar voters. —Phillip M. Bailey, USA TODAY, 9 Jan. 2025

The party has gained support from blue-collar workers, university graduates and, critically, women. —Jim Tankersley, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1929, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

blue-collar

adjective

ˈblü-ˈkäl-ər

: of or relating to the class of workers whose duties require work clothes