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 his view, what was once a sleepy, blue-collar village is becoming an extension of downtown Sacramento. —Annika Merrilees, Sacbee.com, 27 Mar. 2025

Located in Dundalk, a blue-collar town southeast of Baltimore, Hard Yacht Cafe is one of many businesses in the area who lost its customers across the Patapsco River. —Christopher Cann, USA Today, 26 Mar. 2025

The Oakland team includes blue-collar guys, teachers, engineers, warehouse workers, some techies and one individual who works at a toy shop. —Jason Mastrodonato, Mercury News, 24 Mar. 2025

Watch Presumed Innocent on Apple TV+ Palm Royale Kristin Wiig stars in Palm Royale, a series about a conniving blue-collar girl who snakes her way into the high society of Palm Beach, Fla. —Keith Langston, People.com, 23 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1929, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for blue-collar

• footballer
• installer
• caller
• collar
• crawler
• dollar
• faller
• haller
• hauler
• holler
• scholar
• smaller

Kids Definition

blue-collar

adjective

ˈblü-ˈkäl-ər

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