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

In short, the Democratic Party, once built around blue-collar workers, is now built around professionals with college degrees in the suburbs. —Paul Rogers, The Mercury News, 5 Nov. 2024

Just as, college towns and inner cities offers more guarantees for Vice President Harris than heavily blue-collar and Hispanic communities. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024

Brown is running as a blue-collar populist, sporting a gravelly voice and often wrinkled suit that emphasize his everyman bona fides. —Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 4 Nov. 2024

Joining Beverly Hills and Coronado in rebelling against state housing rules: this blue-collar city. —Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2024

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