Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

blue-collar

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.00 in modern English

Syllables: blue--col-lar
IPA

14

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

4

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Working class; engaged or trained in essentially manual labor.

adj

Pertaining to the culture of blue-collar workers.

noun

A blue-collar worker.

Example Sentences

"Blue-collar workers represent a diminishing segment of society."
"The blue-collar, vulnerable McClane of Die Hard wouldn’t even recognize the bulletproof, catchphrase-spouting superhero he’s become in the sequels."
"Bargaining on this scale led the way for the NUR's successes in negotiating with the Big Four after 1921, and subsequently British Rail. Privatisation has put paid to much of that, but railway workers are still arguably the most powerful blue-collar workforce in Britain today."
"Even as a tenured professor, she remained proud of her blue-collar values."
"In ways, these people defined what it was to be a really good lesbian or a really good dyke. For example: You needed to be articulate or aggressive […] You either needed to be a university or community college person, or a real sincere and hardworking blue collar. If you were from one of the outlying towns, you were likely to have a black mark against you in the first place."

Etymology

From blue + collar. From the color of rugged denim and chambray work shirts often worn by manual workers, as opposed to the white dress shirts typically worn by professionals and clerical workers.

Inflected Forms

more blue-collar (comparative) most blue-collar (superlative) bluecollar (alternative) blue collar (alternative) blue-collars (plural)

Phrases

pink-collar white-collar

Frequently Paired Words

pink-collar white-collar

Synonyms

propertyless wage-earning working-class

Questions

What does blue-collar mean?: Working class; engaged or trained in essentially manual labor.
Where does blue-collar come from?: From blue + collar. From the color of rugged denim and chambray work shirts often worn by manual workers, as opposed to the white dress shirts typically worn by professionals and clerical workers.

How to pronounce blue-collar

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “blue-collar”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “blue-collar”.
Repeat and practice — Say “blue-collar” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.