white-collar

adjective

white-col·​lar ˈ(h)wīt-ˈkä-lər 

: of, relating to, or constituting the class of salaried employees whose duties do not call for the wearing of work clothes or protective clothing compare blue-collar

Examples of white-collar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Hackman’s best roles were often of conflicted authority figures or surprisingly clever white-collar villains. —Todd Leopold, CNN, 27 Feb. 2025

The sales downturn resulted in corporate operating losses, kicking off the cycle of layoffs, unscheduled contract reopenings and salary cuts for nonunion white-collar employees. —Jackie Charniga, USA TODAY, 26 Feb. 2025

The bottom line: New York being a big draw for white-collar workers holds true as ever, but plenty of other cities are getting a piece of the action, too. —Alex Fitzpatrick, Axios, 25 Feb. 2025

Amidst a potentially painful transition for big banks, and as the promise of machines doing white-collar jobs spells doomsday for middle management, brand new financial services companies already do more with less. —Ruth Foxe Blader, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1911, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for white-collar

• eurodollar
• caller
• collar
• crawler
• dollar
• faller
• haller
• hauler
• holler
• scholar
• smaller
• squalor

Kids Definition

white-collar

adjective

ˈhwīt-ˈkäl-ər,

ˈwīt-

: of, relating to, or being a member of the class of workers (as clerks and salespersons) whose duties do not require the wearing of work clothes