worker

Pronunciation: /ˈwɝ.kɚ/

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a person who works at a specific occupation
  2. noun a member of the working class (not necessarily employed)
  3. noun sterile member of a colony of social insects that forages for food and cares for the larvae

Etymology

From Middle English werkere, worcher, wercher, equivalent to work + -er. Displaced the older term wright, from Old English wyrhta.

In classic literature

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
person
Narrower (hyponyms)
wallah, boatman, driver, toiler, working girl, seasonal worker
Opposite (antonyms)
nonworker

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